Rent this Movie… Better yet, Buy It
I just finished watching Babette’s Feast. Wow! Excellent film. This movie gets so many things right it’s hard to know where to begin. First a few qualifiers. It was made in 1987, it’s rated G, and it’s subtitled from Dutch and French, but seriously don’t let this deter you. The film isn’t glitzy or glamorous but it illucidates some profound truths in a beautifully humble and poignant way. It manages to brilliantly affirm an anti-gnostic, this-worldy respect and love for beauty, creativity and feasting that draws on the sacramental nature of biblical fellowship and joyful celebration. At the same time it captures the imitation of Christ through self-sacrificial giving to those who, due to their unintentional self-reliance, can experience the true meaning of redemption in no other way. In some ways it is the hopeful antithesis to another one of my favorite (but much darker) films, Dogville.