Babett’s Feast was an interesting movie to watch. However at first I did not think that the film would be very good. I thought it was going to be about some old ladies doing charity work for people in a remote town on the coast. When more characters were introduced the movie became more interesting. The Opera singer, I thought, was a funny character. He started off as a big shot that wanted a vacation and became depressed. He thought his career was over and became depressed. This was turned all around at his first glance of one of the sisters. The way he acted around the sister he was giving singing lessens to was really funny. He was all happy and singing joyfully when he thought that he would be able to make her fall in love and then the things he said to himself when he found out that the singing lessens were to end also made me laugh. Babett’s character in the movie was very well portrayed. She was so nice to very one but would let people know what was what when it came to money. The quality of her personality is not something that you tend to find in people today. Babett’s true character is seen thou in the scenes where she is preparing the feast for the people of the town. The amount of effort that she put into preparing it so it would be perfect showed how much she really appreciated the sister’s hospitality. It also gave her another chance to perform her art the way she once had been able to when she was the head chief at the restaurant.
“An artist is never poor” -Madame Babette
Monday, February 26, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Will McCabe on Babett's Feast
I enjoyed Babett’s Feast, not only because of the culinary aspect but also it tells a normal love story. Not the kind of sappy love story that we are saturated with today but a genuine non sexual friendship kind of love that many of us experience everyday.
This film is also filed with powerful emotions, feeling, images, and dialogue. These people try so hard to seclude their selves from modern life, they start to ignore and trample over their personal relations with one another. Prior to the feast, when the town is together, Babett comes in to check up on their drinks, she finds them bickering and she quickly orders them to stop it. However that did not solve the issue, and we don’t see the full effect of Babett until she cooks the feast. When the General is leaving his house to come to the feast, the audience sees a cold and windy, almost bitter evening. This is relevant to the feelings in the town. However after the feast the night is calm and the stars are out. We see the towns people gather together to sing and say goodnight to each other. It is like the love from Babett’s dinner has touched the entire town and environment around them.
This film is also filed with powerful emotions, feeling, images, and dialogue. These people try so hard to seclude their selves from modern life, they start to ignore and trample over their personal relations with one another. Prior to the feast, when the town is together, Babett comes in to check up on their drinks, she finds them bickering and she quickly orders them to stop it. However that did not solve the issue, and we don’t see the full effect of Babett until she cooks the feast. When the General is leaving his house to come to the feast, the audience sees a cold and windy, almost bitter evening. This is relevant to the feelings in the town. However after the feast the night is calm and the stars are out. We see the towns people gather together to sing and say goodnight to each other. It is like the love from Babett’s dinner has touched the entire town and environment around them.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
Querube Barber - Babette's Feast
Can people really live away from everything secular and deny themselves any kind of desire in order to be close to God?
The film Babette's Feast is about some people who isolated themselves to live pure lives in a small village without the influence or corruption of the outside world.
This film was very interesting and different from the others we have seen so far. In the film, a minister and his two daughters, Martina and Philippa, lived pious lives. The two daughters were very dedicated to the father. They follow his belief to the point that they rejected Papin and Lieutenant Lorens, the two men that could have loved them. Even after their father died, they continued to be faithful to his belief.
The sisters opened their humble house to Babette, a French woman who had lost everything in France. By doing this, the sisters obeyed Hebrews 13:2, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." The sisters did get a blessing and a big help from Babette. They became very dependent upon Babette even though she had been dependent upon them at first.
When Babette won the grand prize with her lottery ticket, sacrificially she prepared a fest for 12 people. The sisters knew this would be a worldly dinner, which would include wine. Nevertheless, they allowed Babette to prepare it.
The dinner turned out to be a kind of transcendent feast where relationships were mended and reconciliation took place between people. There is a parallelism between this dinner and Christ’s Last Supper with His disciples. Babette prepared the dinner for 12 people; Jesus had His last meal with His 12 disciples.
That small village where the minister, his daughters and the small congregation lived was indeed separated from all kind of outside corruption. It was a place of refuge for some like Babette, for others a place to be transformed like the Lieutenant who became a General, and still for others to realize the emptiness of their lives like Papin.
The film Babette's Feast is about some people who isolated themselves to live pure lives in a small village without the influence or corruption of the outside world.
This film was very interesting and different from the others we have seen so far. In the film, a minister and his two daughters, Martina and Philippa, lived pious lives. The two daughters were very dedicated to the father. They follow his belief to the point that they rejected Papin and Lieutenant Lorens, the two men that could have loved them. Even after their father died, they continued to be faithful to his belief.
The sisters opened their humble house to Babette, a French woman who had lost everything in France. By doing this, the sisters obeyed Hebrews 13:2, "Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some people have entertained angels without knowing it." The sisters did get a blessing and a big help from Babette. They became very dependent upon Babette even though she had been dependent upon them at first.
When Babette won the grand prize with her lottery ticket, sacrificially she prepared a fest for 12 people. The sisters knew this would be a worldly dinner, which would include wine. Nevertheless, they allowed Babette to prepare it.
The dinner turned out to be a kind of transcendent feast where relationships were mended and reconciliation took place between people. There is a parallelism between this dinner and Christ’s Last Supper with His disciples. Babette prepared the dinner for 12 people; Jesus had His last meal with His 12 disciples.
That small village where the minister, his daughters and the small congregation lived was indeed separated from all kind of outside corruption. It was a place of refuge for some like Babette, for others a place to be transformed like the Lieutenant who became a General, and still for others to realize the emptiness of their lives like Papin.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
David Wilder - Babbette's Feast
I enjoyed this movie for the most part. Although some parts of it were very slow, the dinner was interesting. I enjoyed the lightheartedness the general brought to the table while the other people were more quiet about it. It was amazing to see the changes throughout the meal. The people were uptight in the beginning, only eating silently. Only towards the end did they start smiling and enjoying the meal. Only then did they start speaking. The General also experienced a transformation. In the beginning he didn't fit in. He jested and made small talk. Throughout the meal however, he seemed to mature. Finally he was able to say something meaningful. It was very nice to finally see him mature and it was remarkable how he addressed the one sister before he left. Only qualm I had was eating the little squirrels or birds or whatever they were. It didn't look as appetizing to me.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Greg McCracken- The Jacket
Greg McCracken
The Jacket
The Jacket is a movie about a man who suffers from memory loss and is eventually framed for a murder he did not commit. Once in court, he is found insane and sentenced to a mental institution. Inside the institution, he is treated with a dangerous therapy that gives him the ability to experience the distant future. During this therapy, he discovers that he will die in the coming days from a head trauma. He must continue to experience this treatment so he can go into the future and get help from a woman he helped in the past. Eventually, he realizes that his death is inevitable, but he still has the ability to save the life of the woman, Jackie Price, who he encounters.
The main character in the Jacket, Jack Starks, could easily be seen as a Christ figure during the movie. Once he figures out that his death is inevitable, he becomes a human sacrifice to save the people he loves. The Jacket has many symbols which serve to show Jack's parallel life to Christ. In a scene where Starks is stareing at his grave, it is shown that he was born on Christmas Day and that he will die on New Year's Day. New Year's Day is symbolic because it is a new beginning. In the movie, Jack's death on New Year's signifies the end of his life and the beginning of a new life for the woman he loves. By Jack's death, Jackie will be able to live; just as Christ's death allowed Christ's followers to live.
The Jacket
The Jacket is a movie about a man who suffers from memory loss and is eventually framed for a murder he did not commit. Once in court, he is found insane and sentenced to a mental institution. Inside the institution, he is treated with a dangerous therapy that gives him the ability to experience the distant future. During this therapy, he discovers that he will die in the coming days from a head trauma. He must continue to experience this treatment so he can go into the future and get help from a woman he helped in the past. Eventually, he realizes that his death is inevitable, but he still has the ability to save the life of the woman, Jackie Price, who he encounters.
The main character in the Jacket, Jack Starks, could easily be seen as a Christ figure during the movie. Once he figures out that his death is inevitable, he becomes a human sacrifice to save the people he loves. The Jacket has many symbols which serve to show Jack's parallel life to Christ. In a scene where Starks is stareing at his grave, it is shown that he was born on Christmas Day and that he will die on New Year's Day. New Year's Day is symbolic because it is a new beginning. In the movie, Jack's death on New Year's signifies the end of his life and the beginning of a new life for the woman he loves. By Jack's death, Jackie will be able to live; just as Christ's death allowed Christ's followers to live.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Querube Barber -- The Jacket
Out of body experience?
The Jacket was an interesting movie, telling the story of a young man through his experience in war and events after he returned. At first, it showed what had happened to Jack Starks when he was in the war. It was clear that he was remembering the past. But when it started showing Jackie as a young adult, it was hard for me to understand whether Jack was remembering what had happened or was dreaming about the future.
When you consider the story as an out of body experience, the movie begins to make more sense. You start realizing what is going on. Jack could see into the future and wanted to use this knowledge for somebody's benefit. In the future, Jack meets Jackie Price and realizes she is the grown up person of a young girl he had met in the past.
From Jack's journeys into the future, Jack discovers he will die. The interesting thing is that he really wanted to help Jackie and her mother even if that meant that he had to lay down his life. He was able to help Jackie's mom change her life style in order to give Jackie a better life. Did Jack live on or did he lay down his life for another? I believe Jack laid down his life as a sacrifice for the sake of Jackie and her mother, and he was at peace doing so.
The Jacket was an interesting movie, telling the story of a young man through his experience in war and events after he returned. At first, it showed what had happened to Jack Starks when he was in the war. It was clear that he was remembering the past. But when it started showing Jackie as a young adult, it was hard for me to understand whether Jack was remembering what had happened or was dreaming about the future.
When you consider the story as an out of body experience, the movie begins to make more sense. You start realizing what is going on. Jack could see into the future and wanted to use this knowledge for somebody's benefit. In the future, Jack meets Jackie Price and realizes she is the grown up person of a young girl he had met in the past.
From Jack's journeys into the future, Jack discovers he will die. The interesting thing is that he really wanted to help Jackie and her mother even if that meant that he had to lay down his life. He was able to help Jackie's mom change her life style in order to give Jackie a better life. Did Jack live on or did he lay down his life for another? I believe Jack laid down his life as a sacrifice for the sake of Jackie and her mother, and he was at peace doing so.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
David Wilder - The Jacket
I found this film to be amazing. I enjoyed the shock and mystery it contained and the shift in the ending. Stark no longer wanted to avoid death, but just wanted to spend it with Jackie. the film ends an an ambiguous way. At first it seems as if he is completely free from his previous body. He has the scare, but it has no power over him. He is free to live out the rest of his life here. However, the last line made me rethink. "How much time do we have left?" This line could mean two things. First, is what I have previously described. the question is without meaning, it is in fact laughable. They have all the time, there is no going back. On the other hand... it could have devastating meaning. If his life in this time is dependant on his life in the other then it would only be a few moments before he bled to death, unable to continue in his ecstatic state. I really do wish he survives, but I believe he would be content even if it meant his death.
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