- 1988
- G
- Nordisk Film Distribution
- 1 h 43 m
SummaryDuring the late 19th century, a strict religious community in a Danish village takes in a French refugee from the Franco-Prussian War as a servant to the late pastor's daughters.
Directed By:Gabriel Axel
Written By:Karen Blixen, Gabriel Axel
Babette's Feast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
78
User score
Generally Favorable
7.9
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
78
83% Positive
15 Reviews
15 Reviews
17% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
Impeccably mounted and played, this is gastro-cinema at its most sensual and intoxicating.
90
All of this is by way of being the prelude to the film's extended, funny and moving final sequence, a spectacular feast, the preparation and execution of which reveal Babette's secret and the nature of her sustaining glory.
83
Babette's Feast isn't a fast-moving or flashy film. But it has a subtle charm and a warm humor that stick to your ribs far longer than the usual motion-picture glitz. [4 March 1988, p.21]
80
This banquet is the glorious finale of Gabriel Axel's Babette's Feast, his handsome, understated adaptation of the Isak Dinesen short story.
80
Twenty-five years on, the story is still charming and beguiling.
70
While Babette’s Feast is bleak, and often ponderous and stony, it eventually resolves as a moving hymn to art.
58
The story’s poignant theme—that love and art retain their beauty even if they can only be indulged once in a lifetime—registers more as an afterthought than as the soul-stirring revelation clearly intended.
User score
Generally Favorable
7.9
75% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
25% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
Oct 13, 2026
6
A Transcendent Feast of Culinary Devotion, Love, and Grace150426 (3.0)Directed by Gabriel Axel and starring Stéphane Audran, "Babette's Feast" (1987) is a celebrated Danish drama adapted from Isak Dinesen's classic tale. The film follows two deeply pious, elderly sisters living in a remote 19th-century Danish village who take in Babette, a French refugee fleeing civil conflict in Paris. For years, Babette quietly serves as their humble housekeeper, until winning the lottery allows her to prepare a lavish, authentic French banquet for the austere local community. Her exquisite culinary artistry transcends mere physical carnality and worldly ambition, evoking a profound sense of divine love and spiritual connection among the isolated villagers. Through her selfless act of sacrifice and creative expression, Babette surely earned her place as a master chef in heaven.
Report
Production Company:
- Panorama Film A/S
- Nordisk Film
- Det Danske Filminstitut
- Rungstedlundfonden
Release Date:Mar 4, 1988
Duration:1 h 43 m
Rating:G
Genres:
Tagline:Artistic, sensual and sacred passions unite in Babette's Feast.
Awards
Academy Awards, USA
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Golden Globes, USA
• 1 Nomination
BAFTA Awards
• 1 Win & 6 Nominations
