MovieChat Forums > Babettes gæstebud (1988) Discussion > Babette vs Au Revoir Les Enfants

Babette vs Au Revoir Les Enfants

posted 16 years ago by homeimp
3 replies | jump to latest

I notice that Babette's Feast won the Best Foreign Film Oscar over Louis Malle's Au Revoir Les Enfants. Much as I love Babette's Feast, I do feel that Au Revoir Les Enfants is the superior film. However, BAFTA also awarded Babette over Les Enfants, so they seemed to agree. According to Candace Bergen on her special feature on the the Criterion Louis Malle boxset, it was generally felt that a win for Les Enfants at the Oscars was considered to be a "slamdunk" for her then husband Louis. When that didn't happen, Louis was devastated. What would be current critical opinion now? Is Babette still rated more highly than Les Enfants?

[–] dioro 16 years ago

Babette's Feast is a little slow, but if you pay attention, it's entertaining.

Personally I'd rate Au Revoir Les Enfants as a better film, but perhaps the acting isn't quite as good.

[–] PsychoDingo 11 years ago

in my opinion, Au Revoir les Enfants is the better film, but I wouldn't begrudge either film winning the Oscar

Malle may have been more devastated than would normally be warranted, because Au Revoir les Enfants was largely autobiographical, and therefore more personal to him than a movie would typically be

I'm proud to say my poetry is only understood by that minority which is aware.

[–] johnmiller (3366) 3 months ago

For me, "Au Revoir Les Enfants" is the better film. I'm personally surprised it didn't win instead.