One Paragraph Movie Review: Babette’s Feast

Twenty-fourth film: Babette’s Feast. I am FLOORED. There’s no way you could read about the plot of this movie and see how it could possibly be wonderful — two devout puritan sisters in a remote Danish village harbouring a tragic Parisian refugee housemaid who cooks dinner for their dead father’s anniversary after 14 years of service. You could technically call it a musical as people keep breaking out into solemn hymns every five minutes, but honestly. Seriously. I still don’t know why it’s so great but it’s SO GREAT. The climax — the actual feast — is beyond, BEYOND exquisite, from the way the crockery is handled to the boy waiter that puberty doesn’t know what to do with to the truly sumptuous, sneaky slurps of champagne. SHUT UP I DIDN’T HUNGRY CRY AT THE END, YOU DID. Four and three quarter quail heads in pastry out of five.