Babette's Feast is a story set in middle to late nineteenth century, on the Western coast of Denmark. The story centers on two sisters, Martina and Philippa, and the plot progresses from the time they were in their early twenties to the time Babette is introduced to them, which is around the time the film begins. But Babette's Feast does not follow the traditional chronological sequence. The first shot we see of the sisters is them in their early sixties. Shortly thereafter, the film jumps back into the past when Martina and Philippa were in their early twenties, and there the film resumes, showing the viewers the events in the lives of the sisters that lead up to Babette's arrival. The camera work on this particular frame, where the older Martina and Philippa transform into the younger Martina and Philippa, is helpful to the viewers in indicating who these two young adult women are. The frame is a close up of the sisters side by side; the flashback is indicated when their two wrinkled, old faces are replaced by young, vibrant faces--same people, different time. And from this we are able to recognize the younger Martina and Philippa as the two older women in the beginning of the film. Throughout the film, the chronology jumps back and forth between the younger sisters and the older sisters, as time passes for the younger sisters and they grow older, and as time remains in the present for the older sisters because this is the point of view from which the story is told. The film relies on flashbacks as the two sisters recall significant events in their past lives.

However, it is not the sisters who tell the story. In fact, the narrator is limited and in third person. She may be an old family friend, familiar with the sisters. Typically, the narrator follows and explains for us the lives and context of the events of the sisters. Occasionally, though, the narrator leaves Martina and Philippa and briefly joins the life of a significant friend or person to the sisters. But she does not get inside the head of those characters, and therefore does not [indicate] their immediate thoughts.

The camera angles are typical eye level shots. There are occasional close-ups that enhance the quality of the film and add emotional appeal /empathy toward a character.

There was an instance of cross-cutting later in the film when Babette first arrives on the scene. The sisters (aged now) are reading a letter, the letter that indeed explains the reason for Babette coming, as Babette sits in the room with them trying to warm up from the chilly and rainy night. This letter is written by Achille Papin, a significant figure in Philippa's life when she was younger. As the camera shoots the women reading the letter, it soon alternates to the residence of Achille Papin and shoots him writing the letter. The camera then resumes to the sisters, and then back to Achille Papin, and back again to the sisters, in particular, Philippa. The purpose of the cross-cutting is for the viewer's remembrance of Achille Papin, for he had disappeared for some time, as the sequence of events in the sisters' lives left him forgotten. But we see the value in meeting Achille Papin in the beginning of the film, even though he may have appeared insignificant, spending only a brief time with Philippa.

As the audience, we can also see the face value of the primitive background music, which is often a lone piano or violin. The foreground music is just as crude: half a dozen or more untrained voices singing hymns accapela, or a piano with a soloist or a duet. Adding to this "dull" or "monotonous" effect is the characters' wardrobe. Colors are dark and gray, which match well the weather and the surrounding village and scenery. Colors are more or less monochromatic.

There are several aspects of the film that become patterns throughout the viewing, and as a result, become symbolic. The window pane is symbolic in several ways. It is shown specifically more than three times: one, when Babette is cleaning off the dirt from it; two, when it is raining outside while the congregation is in dissension inside; and three, the last scene in which the candle inside is snuffed out as the camera focuses on the snowfall past the window pane to the outside. The window pane can symbolize a person's heart. How often our hearts get dirty or muddled from sin or rituals or religiosity, and consequently need a good cleaning, such as the one provided by Babette. And many times, our window can be clean on the outside, but messy and chaotic inside, such as the bickering between members of the sect.

Another symbol throughout the film is the ocean. The film opens with ocean scenes, and is also used as a place for contemplation and meditation for Achille Papin, and for Babette as she watches a white bird soar across the sea as she contemplates her request for a great feast. The ocean therefore has come to symbolize a place of deep though for the characters. There are many themes, or rather, gems of wisdom throughout the course of Babette's Feast. Statements by the General such as "Vanity . . . vanity . . . all is vanity" and "So many years of victory could end in defeat" have a sort of pessimism to them and also point to the value of meekness and humility. These statements have spiritual significance, pointing to man's judgments on the outward appearance and God's judgment of the heart (I Samuel 16:7), and how the community that Martina and Philippa were a part of attempted to embrace inward beauty.

Yet, at the end of the film, change occurs. Babette introduces to the village a feast above all feasts, and this horrifies many members of their Puritan sect. In fact, Martina had a dream about Hades and drunkenness and evil during the time Babette was preparing the feast. The Puritan option was that gluttony was a sin, and Babette was creating this arena for temptation. Their narrow-mindedness almost cost them pleasure in God's creation. But as they began to put down their guards and enjoy the fellowship and the great meal, they realized that not all pleasure is sin. Therefore, another theme that arises is change can liberate.

Becky Jantz