Babette's Feast

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Babette's Feast

G

1987

1h 42m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

97%

Tomatometer

34 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

Beautiful but pious sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one day, Philippa's former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette (Stéphane Audran) to serve as the family cook. Babette's lavish celebratory banquet tempts the family's dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures as fine foods and wines.

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Critics Consensus

Charming and melancholy, Babette's Feast is a timeless Scandinavian treat that explores the complex relationships between people, beliefs, and what it means to be an artist.

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Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

Dec 6, 2018

3/4

It's a strangely moving film about talents and passions used and not used.

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Tasha Robinson

The Dissolve

Jul 23, 2013

3.5/5

While Babette's Feast is bleak, and often ponderous and stony, it eventually resolves as a moving hymn to art.

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

Dec 13, 2012

3/5

Light, frothy and sweet on the tongue, but lacking nutrition.

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Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez

Tom & Lorenzo

Jul 21, 2026

Disappointment, the film seems to be saying, comes for us all in the end, like death. It’s up to us how we’re going to weather it. At the same time, however, it’s a film practically dense with kindness.

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Rene Jordan

El Nuevo Herald (Miami)

Jun 15, 2022

Never has cinema presented such a chaste and tasty orgy. Director Gabriel Axel suggests something heterodox but logical: you can reach the soul through the palette. [Full review in Spanish]

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Dan DiNicola

The Daily Gazette (Schenectady, NY)

Apr 19, 2022

Babette's Feast makes us relax and feel good. We leave it happy.

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Katie W

@Pteris 5 days ago

Watched this a second time with my husband. It was a joy and entertaining to watch his impatient restless boredom turn to excited rapture. The slow build to pure pleasure is executed skillfully.

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Peter V

@RT78913669 Jan 26, 2026

In a kind of prologue nestled within the film, Babette's arrival in the Danish village is explained within the first half of the film, in a compelling discourse that makes her presence thoroughly convincing and sets the stage for enjoying seeing and experiencing the dinner Babette gives to the villagers on their anniversary. The filming and making of the dinner are delightful, and the reactions of the participants are wonderful. The villagers are austere in some ways, but the Catholic Babette emerges in their eyes as an angel who will please God in heaven because of the gifts she offers them. Based on Isak Dinesen's story, the pen name of Karen Blixen of later Out of Africa fame, the film is about the gift of grace, a blissful, extraordinary experience.

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Tom D

@Tomduffy14 Dec 28, 2025

Powerful illustration of the difference between Catholic (Babbette) and Protestant religions.

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Nov 3, 2025

Funny in 1 hour and 42 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Copyright 1987-2025 by Orion Pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Filmed on March 04th, 1987, in color!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Dusk L.

@MyNeighborDUSK Jul 16, 2025

A hugely entertaining drama with a unique story structure that says a lot about many things with a captivating narrative.

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Leaburn O

@RT35452347 Sep 25, 2024

Strangely enjoyable even though little happens. I think it’s the food, it’s like enjoying Masterchef. You can’t help but enjoy the diner’s own enjoyment of the feast. It’s a treat you can’t taste but you can dream about. Watched on DVD.

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Gabriel Axel

Director

Stéphane Audran

Babette Hersant

Jean-Philippe Lafont

Achille Papin

Jarl Kulle

Gamle Lorens Lowenhielm

Gudmar Klöving

Lorens Loewenhielm

Bibi Andersson

Svensk hofdame

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Synopsis

Beautiful but pious sisters Martine (Birgitte Federspiel) and Philippa (Bodil Kjer) grow to spinsterhood under the wrathful eye of their strict pastor father on the forbidding and desolate coast of Jutland, until one day, Philippa's former suitor sends a Parisian refugee named Babette (Stéphane Audran) to serve as the family cook. Babette's lavish celebratory banquet tempts the family's dwindling congregation, who abjure such fleshly pleasures as fine foods and wines.

Director: Gabriel Axel
Producer: Just Betzer, Bo Christensen, Benni Korzen
Screenwriter: Gabriel Axel, Karen Blixen
Distributor: Orion Pictures
Production Co: Nordisk Film
Rating: G
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 4, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 2, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.8M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround

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