Although my husband and I  appreciated  watching a foreign film occasionally years ago, since we had children we have not watched hardly any movies,  let alone a foreign film!  Our boys are finally getting to the age where we can enjoy some movies together that are not “kid’s shows.”

Tonight our family decided to watch Babettes Feast.  My oldest who loves to cook, especially enjoyed watching the French cooking, and my youngest liked reading the sub-titles.  The film was rated G, and it was fine for our family.  There was wine and champagne drinking during the dinner scene…because of the fancy French dinner…. but the devout puritans partaking of the meal had no idea what they were drinking.                                                                      

I suppose that some folks might find this film to be too slow or boring but I found it to be quite charming.  Babett’s Feast is set in a very remote coastal Danish village where only devout puritans live. The members of this sect are very plain and live simply.  They eat  simple  food and do not seem to enjoy many comforts in life.  It takes place during the mid 1800’s.  There is lovely music, hymns, some opera, and peaceful scenery throughout the movie.

Babette  is a famous chef from Paris who comes to live with two sisters in the village.  They do not know that she is a true artist when it comes to food.  Babette wins a lottery from France and prepares the pious villagers an amazing feast using all of the 10,000 francs that she won.  It seems as though the feast brings  joy to these pious  villagers and in the end they became closer, forgiving each other for past transgressions.  Babette uses her talents to minister to these humble folks and also fulfills her own desire to practice her culinary artistry.   Babette  works very hard serving the twelve dinner guests and they are cheered  and satisfied in body, soul, and spirit. They had never experienced such a fine meal during their  modest lives in this lonely village. The film ends with the Bible verse from Psalm 85:10 (KJV): “Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.”

There are so few movies that are suitable for Christian families these days but I would say “Babette’s Feast” would be fine for most families.  It was nice to find a film with absolutely zero profanity,  or violence. 🙂   The following clip shows a bit of romance but this is the extent of it. For older children there are many interesting  themes to discuss.

Don’t forget to turn off the website music before beginning the clip.