Don’t get your theology here, but,

upon the strong recommendation of my favorite Lutheran layman, Craig Parton* (go figure!), I ordered Babette’s Feast, on DVD – paid twenty-two cents more than a typical movie theater ticket, including s&h. I viewed it the same day it arrived, on my laptop. It, to say the least, deserves the ‘big-screen’. It’s a visual feast, a vicarious culinary delight, but that’s not all.
My only reservations are in the area of the depiction of Christ as nothing more than a religious icon, having no relevance. God is made to play a prominent role, but that, with a strong mixture of positive and negative overtones.
Nonetheless, with cautious discernment [It seems to be a somewhat confused amalgamation of Lutheran pietism, Roman Catholicism, and a generous misunderstanding of Calvinistic ‘sovereignty of God’ influences], the movie is what it is, a feast of emotions, even as the sumptuous meal is prepared and served.
I think that some of the reviewers are guilty of cross-referencing other reviewers in their allegations of the setting for the movie being a “conservative (and Calvinistic)” village. In many of the reviews, Pietism is confused with Puritanism. But then, one must allow for ‘artistic’ interpretation. I don’t think I could give it a higher recommendation. I loved it, and will do so again and again.

*Read a great article by Craig Parton, from the archives of Issues Etcetera HERE. And, from The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, Luther Lite and Reformation Schmooze Both articles 'pleadingly' recommended!

Read an early Washington Post review HERE.

AMG Review HERE

Dan Jardine

The sophisticated and subtle screenplay for Babette's Feast, adapted by director Gabriel Axel, is based on a story written by Isak Dinesen, the writer memorably played by Meryl Streep in the biopic Out of Africa. In the film's first half, the emotional detachment of the pious characters is mirrored in the directorial approach, which allows the narrator to explain the matters before us, keeping us at a distance. When the feast begins, the narrator steps aside, Axel's direction becomes more evocative, and our participation becomes more active. Axel plays things low-key: his camera doesn't swoop or dance, but lingers lovingly over every aspect of the meal. The soundtrack includes some beautiful period music, but Axel mostly allows the sounds of the meal to become the symphony of the feast. Made out of humility and love, the feast is Babette's supreme artistic expression, and her hedonistic present encourages the feasters to look a little more closely at their own lives, as the magical and voluptuous feast dramatically counterpoints their puritanical existence. Babette's offering is a ritual sacrifice, intended to encourage the austere characters with the possibility that their material nourishment may provide spiritual sustenance as well. The film also contains a cultural context, as the political revolutions in 19th century Europe lead to Babette's displacement and the resultant cultural blending of Babette's southern European Catholic sensuality with sober northern European Protestantism. Their pact, to say nothing about the magnificence of the feast, ironically reveals the ineffable truth that Babette's artistic expression of love cannot be properly praised with words. Like the guests' spiritual values, it exists on a higher plane, where simple acts of generosity can erase personal prejudices. The film leaves us with a haunting echo of the roads not taken, as the characters must ponder the paths they have chosen and ask themselves: have they made the most of their gifts? Babette's Feast won several major awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film and the British BAFTA Award for Best Film of 1987. ~ Dan Jardine, All Movie Guide