It was quite a night in our house on the Hudson last night... Charlie, keeper of the TV schedule, discovered that there was to be a showing on TCM of a truly great film: Babette's Feast, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 1987...
A scary decision was in order. We hadn't seen it since going to the theatre together to watch it nearly 30 years ago... and there is always danger in revisiting a movie that deeply affected you in your youth.
Think Love Story...
I'm just sayin'...
But we had both been so intrigued and moved that first time that we decided to be brave. And, dear readers, I have to say that every single moment in that glorious film - and the performance by the incomparable Stéphane Audran - is every bit as gripping three decades on.
Is it about food... yes.
Is it about artists... yes.
Is it about being human... most emphatically, yes!
If you haven't seen it, seek it out. If you have... be brave and dive in again.
One word of caution: you will be dying for extraordinary, rich, sumptuous, French food and wine as you watch. I was unprepared for that... or so I thought.
After the lights came back on, the tears dried, the OMGs repeated, I had a flash and ran to the freezer...
Where I found a bag of frozen gougères...
which is French for incredibly light, delectable cheese puffs!
We had a few ethereal cheese bites and a glass of wine as we reveled in a movie that could only be so universal by being completely of its time and place. So gird your loins, have food and drink ready, accept that there will be subtitles, and head to Denmark for an extraordinary two hours... you'll be glad you did.