I have been interested in this film since the moment I heard about it. As a kid whose first memorable movie theater experience was E. T., no filmmaker has more influenced the way I experience movies than Spielberg...and nothing influenced those movies more than his parents' divorce. So I was 100% ready for a personal tale, an origin story without capes or superpowers. No CGI. No motion capture. Just a movie about the power of families and stories through the eyes of a kid. It is just that... But it is more too. There's a generosity in the way that Spielberg makes sense of his own story after the fact. Nobody is a villain or hero. They are just people choosing between happiness and responsibility while realizing slowly and painfully that it may not have to be either/or. There were scenes that worked better than others (and I am still sorting through the third act), but it was fun to see him tell a story like this, whether it was his own or not.
516 Reviews
A nice homage but too long and not one of Spielberg's best.
pkertes-596667 January 2023
This semi-autobiographical film centres around Sammy Fabelman who is transfixed by the first movie he sees at age 6 and develops a passion for film making. Other themes explored with variable depth and success include the fracturing marriage of his parents, bullying and anti-semitism at high school, young love and coming of age, and selfishness in general.
The movie is way too long and felt a little boring in the first 45minutes. It's nicely shot and well directed as you would expect, but the script is patchy and while the acting is generally excellent, the performances of Paul Dano and in particular Michelle Williams as Sammy's parents felt too affected and a little contrived - at times I felt I was watching filming on the set of a TV sitcom. I wonder still if this was deliberately instructed by Spielberg, but for me it doesn't work.
Gabriel Labelle is the best as the teenage Sammy and Judd Hirsch is superb in a cameo as Uncle Boris. John Williams as always provides a perfect score and the visuals are superb.
Overall it's worth seeing for a little insight into Spielberg's childhood but there is an unsatisfactory feel to the film as a whole. I think it could have been so much better.
The movie is way too long and felt a little boring in the first 45minutes. It's nicely shot and well directed as you would expect, but the script is patchy and while the acting is generally excellent, the performances of Paul Dano and in particular Michelle Williams as Sammy's parents felt too affected and a little contrived - at times I felt I was watching filming on the set of a TV sitcom. I wonder still if this was deliberately instructed by Spielberg, but for me it doesn't work.
Gabriel Labelle is the best as the teenage Sammy and Judd Hirsch is superb in a cameo as Uncle Boris. John Williams as always provides a perfect score and the visuals are superb.
Overall it's worth seeing for a little insight into Spielberg's childhood but there is an unsatisfactory feel to the film as a whole. I think it could have been so much better.
"Great stories happen to those who can tell them..."
beatricegl11 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Just watched the world premiere of this movie at TIFF. Engaging from start to finish. Delightful in that Spielbergian way in which he manages to create scenes that are equal parts poignant and comical. Beautifully shot and scored, and perfectly cast, with standout performances by Michelle and Gabriel. While it is deeply personal for Spielberg, it is relatable in so many ways, with family being one of the central themes. Having studied film, I just enjoyed watching how this legendary filmmaker showed us his journey IN filmmaking in the context of his own life and upbringing. A movie for movie lovers BY one of the biggest movie lovers of all time.
"A movie is a dream you never forget"
boblipton13 November 2022
It's watching Steven Spielberg grow up from a child terrified by the train crash in THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, to an adolescent film maker. He's pretty up front about the family issues and his parents' break up. I suspect he has realized that being an adult is a tough thing and is willing to forgive.
At 150 minutes, it should feel self indulgent, but it never does, thanks to a terrific performance by Michelle Williams as the mother and Paul Dano as the father. No one seems to be acting, which is half the Spielberg magic. There are also great cameos by Judd Hirsch as the profane uncle who was a lion tamer, and David Lynch as John Ford.
Some of the characters seem sketchily drawn, particularly the sisters, but that serves to emphasize Miss Williams, Dano, and Gabriel LaBelle as the Steven Spielberg character. Is she t that Spielberg and his frequent collaborator Tony Kühner, have drawn a fine portrait of a Jewish post-war family, when things were supposed to be so very bland... but really, people were living their lives.
At 150 minutes, it should feel self indulgent, but it never does, thanks to a terrific performance by Michelle Williams as the mother and Paul Dano as the father. No one seems to be acting, which is half the Spielberg magic. There are also great cameos by Judd Hirsch as the profane uncle who was a lion tamer, and David Lynch as John Ford.
Some of the characters seem sketchily drawn, particularly the sisters, but that serves to emphasize Miss Williams, Dano, and Gabriel LaBelle as the Steven Spielberg character. Is she t that Spielberg and his frequent collaborator Tony Kühner, have drawn a fine portrait of a Jewish post-war family, when things were supposed to be so very bland... but really, people were living their lives.
Dear Diary, It's Steven
jaredpahl1 December 2022
After 50 years of making movies, Steven Spielberg is still, in the 2020s, finding new muscles to work. His semi-autobiopic, The Fabelmans, is different in style, reach, and aim, than anything Spielberg has ever made. The consummate ringmaster has never helmed a film so modest. And for a director whose personal attachments are spread all over his filmography, The Fabelmans may also be his most intimate.
The story of Sam Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) is the story of Steven Spielberg, Jewish kid from Small Town USA, lover and later maker of movies. Sam shares with Steven three younger sisters, an eccentric concert pianist mother, an electrical engineer father, and a nearly identical path to movie directing. The names might be different, but obviously The Fabelmans is a dramatization of Steven Spielberg's childhood. It's certainly not our first indication of what the director thinks of such things as his parents' divorce, his interpersonal relationships with his family, or the images, moments, and memories that inspired him to make movies. Spielberg has brilliantly disguised these themes within his genre films; in alien invasion movies, dinosaur pictures, science fiction noirs, and family fantasy adventures. But with The Fabelmans, here comes the full reveal. It is a movie directly about family. His family. One must assume The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg's last word on the subjects that have bewitched him throughout his career.
The Fabelmans is kitchen sink drama all the way; no bells, no whistles, no magic realism or distracting style. In other words, no distance from these characters. The ones we have here are all quite well-realized. Paul Dano as Burt, the Fableman patriarch, is a sweetheart; surprisingly real despite an affected subservient speech pattern. Dano's character could have been an embarrassing caricature of the "no fun, get a job" father, but he comes out well-intentioned and completely three dimensional in a thankless role. Michelle Williams has the showier job playing mother Mitzy. She doesn't fumble the challenge, and in fact carves out a memorable personality from the more artistically inclined of Sam's parents. In the middle is Gabriel LaBelle, the latest model of the square-jawed, brown-eyed, young male muse that Spielberg has been searching for for decades now. Like Ansel Elgort, Tye Sheridan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Irvine, and Shia LaBeouf before him (the man has a type), he's good enough. LaBelle is a likeable personality, a truly important metric for a performance like this, and he anchors the film admirably. Will it be that elusive star-making performance Spielberg has clearly been wanting from one of his young proteges? No. But it's a nice one.
A few supporting players stop in for extended cameos. Judd Hirsh's quick turn as Uncle Boris may very well earn him an Oscar nomination. Hirsch has the classic showpiece monologue-two of them to be exact-and the sort of built-up respect needed for such a role. Young Chloe East on the other hand is a real discovery as Sam's high school girlfriend. Just when the movie needs a little energy, she comes in with the good stuff. Her's is a bright and living performance that never feels put on. Seth Rogan is there as well. A risky, maybe inspired casting choice, he's not bad.
The Fabelmans is practically structureless, even at times aimless. There is no agreed-upon thesis that the movie is working toward, nor is there a feeling Spielberg is coaxing us into experiencing. As a cinematic project, it does not play to its director's strengths whatsoever. But we've seen the resiliency of Steven Spielberg before. Desert animal he truly is; able to adapt to changing landscapes and external challenges. By his standards, this is a tiny movie. Not the first quiet, artistic coming-of-age movie (in one of the movie's few missteps, it trots out a clichéd bullying subplot that drags the quality of the production way down), but in experienced, versatile hands, one of the very best.
The Fabelmans certainly won't blow the doors off the box office, and for many, its sincere love for the craft of filmmaking will go completely unregistered. That narrow appeal, however, is precisely why The Fabelmans is destined to become a very special movie for people like me. I had my own 'Greatest Show on Earth' experience at six years old, when I saw Sam Raimi's Spider-man in one of the great big theaters where my aunt lived. Later, after I had discovered more of my favorites, developed a taste for the movies, I made my own. My cousins starred in one Jurassic Park rip-off as a team of scientists pursued by dragons in Shanghai. I became a film snob in college, and made short films with the guiding help of a professor who thought I had potential. I got a job as a documentarian and later directed a commercial or two of my own. All the while, I had my own family, who happen to be a lot like The Fabelmans, there to support and sometimes to trivialize, but whom I love with everything I have. Oh, it is sappy to talk about how personal The Fabelmans feels to me. I'm sure mine will not be the only review emphasizing how relatable this film is to someone with the artistic itch. But I assume I'm much like Sam Fabelman, and Steven Spielberg too, when I say that movies are my therapy. Our careers may never compare, but at least we'll share that.
Mazal Tov.
87/100.
The story of Sam Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) is the story of Steven Spielberg, Jewish kid from Small Town USA, lover and later maker of movies. Sam shares with Steven three younger sisters, an eccentric concert pianist mother, an electrical engineer father, and a nearly identical path to movie directing. The names might be different, but obviously The Fabelmans is a dramatization of Steven Spielberg's childhood. It's certainly not our first indication of what the director thinks of such things as his parents' divorce, his interpersonal relationships with his family, or the images, moments, and memories that inspired him to make movies. Spielberg has brilliantly disguised these themes within his genre films; in alien invasion movies, dinosaur pictures, science fiction noirs, and family fantasy adventures. But with The Fabelmans, here comes the full reveal. It is a movie directly about family. His family. One must assume The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg's last word on the subjects that have bewitched him throughout his career.
The Fabelmans is kitchen sink drama all the way; no bells, no whistles, no magic realism or distracting style. In other words, no distance from these characters. The ones we have here are all quite well-realized. Paul Dano as Burt, the Fableman patriarch, is a sweetheart; surprisingly real despite an affected subservient speech pattern. Dano's character could have been an embarrassing caricature of the "no fun, get a job" father, but he comes out well-intentioned and completely three dimensional in a thankless role. Michelle Williams has the showier job playing mother Mitzy. She doesn't fumble the challenge, and in fact carves out a memorable personality from the more artistically inclined of Sam's parents. In the middle is Gabriel LaBelle, the latest model of the square-jawed, brown-eyed, young male muse that Spielberg has been searching for for decades now. Like Ansel Elgort, Tye Sheridan, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jeremy Irvine, and Shia LaBeouf before him (the man has a type), he's good enough. LaBelle is a likeable personality, a truly important metric for a performance like this, and he anchors the film admirably. Will it be that elusive star-making performance Spielberg has clearly been wanting from one of his young proteges? No. But it's a nice one.
A few supporting players stop in for extended cameos. Judd Hirsh's quick turn as Uncle Boris may very well earn him an Oscar nomination. Hirsch has the classic showpiece monologue-two of them to be exact-and the sort of built-up respect needed for such a role. Young Chloe East on the other hand is a real discovery as Sam's high school girlfriend. Just when the movie needs a little energy, she comes in with the good stuff. Her's is a bright and living performance that never feels put on. Seth Rogan is there as well. A risky, maybe inspired casting choice, he's not bad.
The Fabelmans is practically structureless, even at times aimless. There is no agreed-upon thesis that the movie is working toward, nor is there a feeling Spielberg is coaxing us into experiencing. As a cinematic project, it does not play to its director's strengths whatsoever. But we've seen the resiliency of Steven Spielberg before. Desert animal he truly is; able to adapt to changing landscapes and external challenges. By his standards, this is a tiny movie. Not the first quiet, artistic coming-of-age movie (in one of the movie's few missteps, it trots out a clichéd bullying subplot that drags the quality of the production way down), but in experienced, versatile hands, one of the very best.
The Fabelmans certainly won't blow the doors off the box office, and for many, its sincere love for the craft of filmmaking will go completely unregistered. That narrow appeal, however, is precisely why The Fabelmans is destined to become a very special movie for people like me. I had my own 'Greatest Show on Earth' experience at six years old, when I saw Sam Raimi's Spider-man in one of the great big theaters where my aunt lived. Later, after I had discovered more of my favorites, developed a taste for the movies, I made my own. My cousins starred in one Jurassic Park rip-off as a team of scientists pursued by dragons in Shanghai. I became a film snob in college, and made short films with the guiding help of a professor who thought I had potential. I got a job as a documentarian and later directed a commercial or two of my own. All the while, I had my own family, who happen to be a lot like The Fabelmans, there to support and sometimes to trivialize, but whom I love with everything I have. Oh, it is sappy to talk about how personal The Fabelmans feels to me. I'm sure mine will not be the only review emphasizing how relatable this film is to someone with the artistic itch. But I assume I'm much like Sam Fabelman, and Steven Spielberg too, when I say that movies are my therapy. Our careers may never compare, but at least we'll share that.
Mazal Tov.
87/100.
A comforting and unchallenging watch
slzoras19 December 2022
There is a tendency these last years for directors to create movies about their love of movies. This movie is Spielberg's attempt, and I can confirm that it's pretty well achieved. You can feel the "true story" in the ways in which this coming-of-age story avoids melodramatic teenage cliches and tropes. The protagonist is simply a good guy. There are no real antagonists except... I guess a couple of bullies...? It's a story that simply proves Spielberg's unmatched proficiency in the language of cinema: the pacing, the directing, is very refined and well-crafted, there's a lot of sentimentality that is efficiently conveyed and the visuals are always engaging in one way or another.
Spielberg is a weird director, one that basically is simply very good at doing what he does, he talks the language of movies, Hollywood movies. He's one of those producers that turns every pop song into a hit. He doesn't have a strong sense of story, he lives and breaths in the Hollywood mainstream, and the movie portrays this very well, it shows how he is inspired by action movies, or epic movies, any entertaining story. His alter ego in the film is a very normal lead character, a very Hollywood-type of character. The best moments in the story are the interaction with his family, his complex relationship with his mother (really beautifully performed). I don't find a lot else to say, really. The only nitpick I have to offer is that the main character wears these extremely distracting brown contact lenses (I suppose to make his eyes look "genetically accurate) and I don't understand how necessary that was. The movie is simply a very conventionally well told story. Also the Lynch cameo is admittedly a moving tribute both to him and to his character of John Ford. It's slow in parts but not grating, some moments are chuckle-worthy, some are moving. It's a testament to Spielberg's insane versatility and his ability to just serve the medium of Hollywood films. I'm probably going to forget this movie in a while, but I will gladly revisit it. It's a cute movie, very cozy and feel-good, a nice Christmas family watch.
Spielberg is a weird director, one that basically is simply very good at doing what he does, he talks the language of movies, Hollywood movies. He's one of those producers that turns every pop song into a hit. He doesn't have a strong sense of story, he lives and breaths in the Hollywood mainstream, and the movie portrays this very well, it shows how he is inspired by action movies, or epic movies, any entertaining story. His alter ego in the film is a very normal lead character, a very Hollywood-type of character. The best moments in the story are the interaction with his family, his complex relationship with his mother (really beautifully performed). I don't find a lot else to say, really. The only nitpick I have to offer is that the main character wears these extremely distracting brown contact lenses (I suppose to make his eyes look "genetically accurate) and I don't understand how necessary that was. The movie is simply a very conventionally well told story. Also the Lynch cameo is admittedly a moving tribute both to him and to his character of John Ford. It's slow in parts but not grating, some moments are chuckle-worthy, some are moving. It's a testament to Spielberg's insane versatility and his ability to just serve the medium of Hollywood films. I'm probably going to forget this movie in a while, but I will gladly revisit it. It's a cute movie, very cozy and feel-good, a nice Christmas family watch.
Preconceived notions, I apologize Steven
mx-8549612 June 2023
When I first found out that Steven was making a movie about his life my first reaction was "wow, that's a conceited thing to do" so, I really wanted to dislike this film even before watching.
So, I skipped it at the theaters, did read some reviews and there were a lot of mixed ones. Watched the trailers and I admit those made it look half good. I figured I'd just wait till it streaming then I'd give it a go.
This afternoon I did just that, sat down in my rocking chair and watched 'the Fabelmans' and after it had ended and the credits were rolling my first thought was 'I apologize Steven'
I now know that it wasn't out of some conceited place or Steven trying to pay tribute to his own career. Instead it's a film about his family and it's dysfunctions and milestones that would eventually lead Steven to be the wonderful filmmaker we all love.
It's obvious now that Steven was the only one that could of written and directed this film.
Now, I can understand if there's questions on 'why' he made this film. Why expose his family's dirty laundry? Why stir up controversial moments but all these things led to Steven becoming the filmmaker he is.
In the end I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. I laughed, I was aggravated and at times very moved and inside all of those emotions we have tidbits on Steven falling in love with filmmaking. It's always present in the film but really it's not the focus. It's his family, the love he has for them and those struggles to keep it all together.
Good job Steven and thank you for such a wonderful career and so many great memories you have given to me and my family.
So, I skipped it at the theaters, did read some reviews and there were a lot of mixed ones. Watched the trailers and I admit those made it look half good. I figured I'd just wait till it streaming then I'd give it a go.
This afternoon I did just that, sat down in my rocking chair and watched 'the Fabelmans' and after it had ended and the credits were rolling my first thought was 'I apologize Steven'
I now know that it wasn't out of some conceited place or Steven trying to pay tribute to his own career. Instead it's a film about his family and it's dysfunctions and milestones that would eventually lead Steven to be the wonderful filmmaker we all love.
It's obvious now that Steven was the only one that could of written and directed this film.
Now, I can understand if there's questions on 'why' he made this film. Why expose his family's dirty laundry? Why stir up controversial moments but all these things led to Steven becoming the filmmaker he is.
In the end I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. I laughed, I was aggravated and at times very moved and inside all of those emotions we have tidbits on Steven falling in love with filmmaking. It's always present in the film but really it's not the focus. It's his family, the love he has for them and those struggles to keep it all together.
Good job Steven and thank you for such a wonderful career and so many great memories you have given to me and my family.
"Oh Stephen, what a bore"
xnyrnkc24 November 2022
I just returned from seeing the new Stephen Spielberg film, "The Fabelmans" which is loosely based on the early life and teenage years of Spielberg, the Wunderkind! The anticipation I had for seeing this film was enormous, and I felt so underwhelmed and almost bored by the entire production. To quote Norma Shearer from the 1939 film, "The Women", "Oh Stephen, what a bore". That's how I felt about this film. The first hour was so unfulfilling, it was like watching paint dry on a wall. I'm a huge Spielberg fan and "Schindler's List" is my all time favorite film and a brilliant one at that. "The Fabelmans" lacked a brilliant score, although it was scored by John Williams. Bland would be a word to describe the soundtrack, except for top 10 hits of the 1960s. The brilliance of a Janusz Kaminski cinematography was also lacking in this film. Paul Dano, as the father, was very good in an underplayed role. Michelle Williams, a brilliant actress, was miscast and had no chutzpah or any sign of Jewishness needed for the role. The rest of the cast was mediocre at best.
I'm sure Spielberg put his heart into this film but I left with a big void and felt totally underwhelmed by this film.
I'm sure Spielberg put his heart into this film but I left with a big void and felt totally underwhelmed by this film.
Spielberg's love letter to cinema
gangeshgnair16 December 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Steven Spielbergs semi autobiography. This is his love letter to cinema. This is one of the legendary filmmaker trying to show us how he fell in love with cinema in the first place. Once i watched this movie I just wanted to take a camera, go out and just start filming something, that's how heartwarming it is. The movie mainly is a coming of age story. Any aspiring filmmaker or anyone who loves cinema for that matter will love this movie. There is some exceptionally staged and shot moments in the movie, for example there is this scene where sammy (the protagonist) realises his mom is having an affair with his dads best friend. The way they show that scene is just amazing. The scenes where he try to shoot a movie with his friends and the techniques he uses to show a gun firing Or shoot a war sequence were just amazing. The movie also tries to show a family drama, sammys relationship with his parents and sisters and how they deal with the divorce of their parents. Gabriel La Belle is just amazing as sammy. I really liked his performance. Michelle Williams, seth rogans, paul dano all gave amazing performance. The girls who came as sammys sisters were amazing. The movie is technically awsome. Kaminskis cinematography is so awsome, the retro effect, the nostalgia just hits you and gives such a nice vibe.
Everyday Life Is Not That Interesting
Nolan_Baker_Ratings26 November 2022
The movie starts with an amazing opening scene about a boy being inspired to make movies. Next is two hours and 15 minutes of everyday life that feels familiar and uninteresting. The movie bookends with a wonderful encounter between Spielberg and one of his hero's, but the film just lacks the flare that makes a movie great. There was no shark in the water or soldier to save. The movie was well-acted and I'm sure many of its characters (whom I walked out of the theater only remembering the name Sam) will receive Academy award nominations. Spielberg will get a best director nomination, and probably a Best Original Screenplay one too because the Academy loves Spielberg.
If you want a good Spielberg movie, don't watch The Fablemans and instead watch some of his older work.
If you want a good Spielberg movie, don't watch The Fablemans and instead watch some of his older work.
A love letter to filmmakers and cinephiles.
jaysonpajaronvistal5 January 2023
The Fabelmans is both a coming-of-age story and a love letter to filmmaking; calling this movie a labor of love is an understatement. The Fabelman is Spielberg's most personal film ever as he shared how he developed his passion for filmmaking while demonstrating the power of escapism the movies brought to his life. Steven Spielberg understands that love for art is not just a hobby but also an expression of one's self and exploration of humankind. Steven Spielberg was able to articulate himself in a very raw yet profound way with his film, The Fabelmans. It is good to see him tell the story of his life while recognizing that his family is far from perfect and how a young man deals with one family crisis and overcoming it through the power of filmmaking. If you share the same love for film, like everyone here, you would certainly appreciate this movie. But, the movie is far from perfect as most of Spielberg's films.
The movie focuses on Sammy, played wonderfully by Gabriel LaBelle, which sometimes comes off as a bit pretentious as a character. But, Gabriel LaBelle was great in this movie that he showed the emotional depth of the character, and his fascination with filmmaking translates to the audience. Gabriel LaBelle must have felt extreme pressure while playing this character, considering that he's playing one of the best filmmakers of all time, but he was able to give justice to the character at no fault. However, it was Michelle Williams that stood out in this film---to say her performance is phenomenal is diminishing---she was terrific and captivating as Mitzi, a free-spirited mother with an extreme love for art. Paul Dano was great in this film, as well as Seth Rogen. Also, Judd Hirsch is for sure a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination, only in the movie for less than 10 minutes, but his character is pivotal for Sammy's growth.
During the third act of the film, it kinda lost its footing, the movie became dragging, cliche, and pretentious. But, The Fabelmans is far from Spielberg's best work, like Schindler's List or ET, but the movie works as a coming-of-age story that delivers more of the director's insights. The Fabelmans is a charming and poignant anecdote about life glimpsed through the camera and how those occasions shaped one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Although the movie is predictable and does not come with surprises. The Fabelmans still works without depending on glitzy special effects, an excessive amount of violence, or shock value, but because of its great direction, performances, sincerity, and authenticity from the writing perspective, it resulted in The Fabelmans being one of this year's best films. We can see that it's personal, but it feels like the movie is made for us as well.
The movie focuses on Sammy, played wonderfully by Gabriel LaBelle, which sometimes comes off as a bit pretentious as a character. But, Gabriel LaBelle was great in this movie that he showed the emotional depth of the character, and his fascination with filmmaking translates to the audience. Gabriel LaBelle must have felt extreme pressure while playing this character, considering that he's playing one of the best filmmakers of all time, but he was able to give justice to the character at no fault. However, it was Michelle Williams that stood out in this film---to say her performance is phenomenal is diminishing---she was terrific and captivating as Mitzi, a free-spirited mother with an extreme love for art. Paul Dano was great in this film, as well as Seth Rogen. Also, Judd Hirsch is for sure a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination, only in the movie for less than 10 minutes, but his character is pivotal for Sammy's growth.
During the third act of the film, it kinda lost its footing, the movie became dragging, cliche, and pretentious. But, The Fabelmans is far from Spielberg's best work, like Schindler's List or ET, but the movie works as a coming-of-age story that delivers more of the director's insights. The Fabelmans is a charming and poignant anecdote about life glimpsed through the camera and how those occasions shaped one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Although the movie is predictable and does not come with surprises. The Fabelmans still works without depending on glitzy special effects, an excessive amount of violence, or shock value, but because of its great direction, performances, sincerity, and authenticity from the writing perspective, it resulted in The Fabelmans being one of this year's best films. We can see that it's personal, but it feels like the movie is made for us as well.
It's a very long movie.
Sleepin_Dragon25 October 2023
Young Sammy Fabelman is taken to the cinema by his parents to see 'The Greatest show on Earth,' the film has a major impact on him, and inspires him to take up film making, a deep family secret threatens to end his dream.
I wanted to love this movie, I really did, but I just found it too slow and long, overall it's not bad, a nice movie. As always I'll start with the positives, how nice to see a film that isn't action packed, with tonnes of CGI, villains and explosions, this is an engaging story, a sunday afternoon movie to curl up on the sofa to.
The acting is excellent, Dano and Williams are excellent, sincere performances, Seth Rogen is pretty good too, he's surprising me as he's maturing.
The downside, it's way too long, I fell asleep twice, and had to rewind back, it needed to be shorter, as there's nothing punchy happening, it's hard to remain focused, there's measured, and then there's slow, this was definitely more towards the latter.
Not sure I'd watch it again, but glad I did.
6/10.
I wanted to love this movie, I really did, but I just found it too slow and long, overall it's not bad, a nice movie. As always I'll start with the positives, how nice to see a film that isn't action packed, with tonnes of CGI, villains and explosions, this is an engaging story, a sunday afternoon movie to curl up on the sofa to.
The acting is excellent, Dano and Williams are excellent, sincere performances, Seth Rogen is pretty good too, he's surprising me as he's maturing.
The downside, it's way too long, I fell asleep twice, and had to rewind back, it needed to be shorter, as there's nothing punchy happening, it's hard to remain focused, there's measured, and then there's slow, this was definitely more towards the latter.
Not sure I'd watch it again, but glad I did.
6/10.
This falls far short of the hype,
wisewebwoman5 March 2023
It was far too stretched out. Like in breaking point elastic.
An irritating factor at the beginning (and this is one of my pet peeves) is that the blue eyed boy becomes a brown-eyed teenager/adult. This might be nit-picking to some but it jerks me right out of the film.
The scenes with the train were way overplayed, We get it Steven. Truly.
The film is more about the mother than her son. And their dynamic didn't feel real either. She had three other children and there is virtually nothing of her interactions with them.
I am a huge admirer of SS and his films but this is, I hate to say this, cringe worthy. That scene where the bully follows him to the locker room is unbelievable. No thick bully would have that kind of insight into his own behaviour.
I get the fifties vibe, the Beach Blanket Bingo of that era, But it was all over the place and the focus was not consistent.
Self indulgent pap.
5/10. I am being generous.
An irritating factor at the beginning (and this is one of my pet peeves) is that the blue eyed boy becomes a brown-eyed teenager/adult. This might be nit-picking to some but it jerks me right out of the film.
The scenes with the train were way overplayed, We get it Steven. Truly.
The film is more about the mother than her son. And their dynamic didn't feel real either. She had three other children and there is virtually nothing of her interactions with them.
I am a huge admirer of SS and his films but this is, I hate to say this, cringe worthy. That scene where the bully follows him to the locker room is unbelievable. No thick bully would have that kind of insight into his own behaviour.
I get the fifties vibe, the Beach Blanket Bingo of that era, But it was all over the place and the focus was not consistent.
Self indulgent pap.
5/10. I am being generous.
If Super 8 and Cinema Paradiso Had a Baby
sassonlonner11 November 2022
Spielberg has been a favorite director since I was a kid, but I still envy my parents who got to see his debut hits in theaters back in the 70s. Prior to this hit, the only movie of his I saw on release was Ready Player One (which I loved) but it didn't compete with his classics like ET or Jaws. This movie was different. Not only was it his best film in decades but it came from a different part of Spielberg we haven't seen before, being way more personal than his earlier films. Whether you like film or not, this movie is a must see. It is about passion, family, grief, and coming of age. It hits all of its marks with flying colors.
the fascination of the camera
dromasca6 January 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Hollywood likes to make movies about Hollywood. Several of the great directors (including
Spielberg's friends and collaborators Truffaut and George Lucas) have made autobiographical films inspired by their own childhood and adolescence. In 'The Fabelmans' (2022), Steven Spielberg combines the two genres and the result can only be a film that pleases the public as well as the members of the Academy. In fact, it's the film that will have to be beaten in several important categories in this year's Academy Awards competition. But I don't think it was an easy film for Spielberg. It's not easy to make a film where the main characters are your parents and yourself at the ages of childhood and adolescence. Anyone who has read a biography of Spielberg will recognize the characters, years and dates of the main events depicted in the film as belonging to the first 19 years of Spielberg's life. Without being a masterpiece and even if it brings back to the screen some of the strengths and weaknesses of the director's previous films, 'The Fabelmans' is a film full of emotion and above all of love for cinema and fascination for the power of the image.
The opening and closing scenes of 'The Fabelmans' are probably either fiction or much improved history (the screenplay is written by Spielberg in collaboration with Tony Kushner). In the first scene, a six-year-old boy is taken by his parents to the cinema for the first time. He is a bit afraid of the 'big people on the screen'. Father explaines to him scientifically how moving images are formed. Mother tells him about emotions. He will see a film by Cecil B. DeMille in which a spectacular catastrophe occurs - the collision between two trains and an automobile caught in the middle between them. The impression is strong: fear and fascination. In the final scene of 'The Fabelmans' the same character, now a 19-year-old who wants nothing else in life than to make films, has the privilege of chatting for a few minutes with 'the greatest director who ever lived', John Ford ( played brilliantly by David Lynch). In a few sentences he gives him a lesson that sums up the art of the visual and that also symbolizes a passing of the baton between generations and eras of American cinema. Between these two scenes we are dealing with the story of the childhood and adolescence of a boy who becomes fascinated by the camera and who gradually learns not only the secrets of its handling but also the power that the one who films and edits acquires - the power to tell stories , to create characters and embellish real characters, to envelop his viewers in dreams and nightmares, to document the truth or hide it by cutting at the editing table.
What we have in the two and a half hours between these two scenes is the story of an American family after World War II. Father, mother, four children of whom Sam Fabelman is the oldest and only boy. It looks like a model family, but in reality it is an unhappy family in its own way ((C) Tolstoy). Mother, father and Sam are three strong characters with aspirations in different directions who cannot be all three happy at the same time. The father is presented as a brilliant scientist, one of those whose vision and technical talent ushered in the era of numerical computers. He is an extremely good man but absorbed in work. He supports his family and their ever-increasing standard of living, but to succeed everything must be sacrificed to his career - including marriage and family life. Mother had been a talented pianist, but the obligations of supporting a household with three or four children had forced her to give up her career as a professional musician. Finally, Sam becomes more and more overwhelmed by his passion for cinema, encouraged, sometimes secretly by his mother, while his father continues for a long time to consider it just a hobby. The camera was for Sam a moral support, a refuge, a way to express his feelings and to ward off the blows caused by the conflicts of the outside world: the changes of residence increasingly westward in the United States to California, following the father's career, the anti-Semitic violence he suffers from some of his new colleagues, and especially the breakup of his parents' marriage.
We have in this film an updated version of that Spielberg of the films where he focuses on the characters with their dramas and melodramas and does not resort to spectacular effects. The casting is, as always, excellent, emphasizing the ability to create emotion. Paul Dano as the father is amazing, one of the best fleshed out characters I've seen in movies lately. Michelle Williams sometimes thickens and repeats features of the mother's character, but she, too, I think, will not avoid at least an Academy Award nomination. Seth Rogers (almost unrecognizable) and Judd Hirsch pencil two key supporting roles. Gabriel LaBelle is cast in the lead role of Sam, who I think I'm seeing for the first time. He is surrounded by a group of young and talented actors who play the hero's classmates, friends, sisters and girlfriend, all in their childhood and teenage years. Spielberg is, as always, excellent in casting and directing child, adolescent or young actors. There are some aspects that are covered in less depth - such as the Jewishness of the hero and his family. Perhaps Spielberg will address this theme in one of his future films. 'The Fabelmans' will remain in the memory of the viewers as a story of love and fascination between a teenager and the camera. A director is born before our eyes. The last frame, a la Chaplin or The Wizard of Oz, is actually just the beginning.
The opening and closing scenes of 'The Fabelmans' are probably either fiction or much improved history (the screenplay is written by Spielberg in collaboration with Tony Kushner). In the first scene, a six-year-old boy is taken by his parents to the cinema for the first time. He is a bit afraid of the 'big people on the screen'. Father explaines to him scientifically how moving images are formed. Mother tells him about emotions. He will see a film by Cecil B. DeMille in which a spectacular catastrophe occurs - the collision between two trains and an automobile caught in the middle between them. The impression is strong: fear and fascination. In the final scene of 'The Fabelmans' the same character, now a 19-year-old who wants nothing else in life than to make films, has the privilege of chatting for a few minutes with 'the greatest director who ever lived', John Ford ( played brilliantly by David Lynch). In a few sentences he gives him a lesson that sums up the art of the visual and that also symbolizes a passing of the baton between generations and eras of American cinema. Between these two scenes we are dealing with the story of the childhood and adolescence of a boy who becomes fascinated by the camera and who gradually learns not only the secrets of its handling but also the power that the one who films and edits acquires - the power to tell stories , to create characters and embellish real characters, to envelop his viewers in dreams and nightmares, to document the truth or hide it by cutting at the editing table.
What we have in the two and a half hours between these two scenes is the story of an American family after World War II. Father, mother, four children of whom Sam Fabelman is the oldest and only boy. It looks like a model family, but in reality it is an unhappy family in its own way ((C) Tolstoy). Mother, father and Sam are three strong characters with aspirations in different directions who cannot be all three happy at the same time. The father is presented as a brilliant scientist, one of those whose vision and technical talent ushered in the era of numerical computers. He is an extremely good man but absorbed in work. He supports his family and their ever-increasing standard of living, but to succeed everything must be sacrificed to his career - including marriage and family life. Mother had been a talented pianist, but the obligations of supporting a household with three or four children had forced her to give up her career as a professional musician. Finally, Sam becomes more and more overwhelmed by his passion for cinema, encouraged, sometimes secretly by his mother, while his father continues for a long time to consider it just a hobby. The camera was for Sam a moral support, a refuge, a way to express his feelings and to ward off the blows caused by the conflicts of the outside world: the changes of residence increasingly westward in the United States to California, following the father's career, the anti-Semitic violence he suffers from some of his new colleagues, and especially the breakup of his parents' marriage.
We have in this film an updated version of that Spielberg of the films where he focuses on the characters with their dramas and melodramas and does not resort to spectacular effects. The casting is, as always, excellent, emphasizing the ability to create emotion. Paul Dano as the father is amazing, one of the best fleshed out characters I've seen in movies lately. Michelle Williams sometimes thickens and repeats features of the mother's character, but she, too, I think, will not avoid at least an Academy Award nomination. Seth Rogers (almost unrecognizable) and Judd Hirsch pencil two key supporting roles. Gabriel LaBelle is cast in the lead role of Sam, who I think I'm seeing for the first time. He is surrounded by a group of young and talented actors who play the hero's classmates, friends, sisters and girlfriend, all in their childhood and teenage years. Spielberg is, as always, excellent in casting and directing child, adolescent or young actors. There are some aspects that are covered in less depth - such as the Jewishness of the hero and his family. Perhaps Spielberg will address this theme in one of his future films. 'The Fabelmans' will remain in the memory of the viewers as a story of love and fascination between a teenager and the camera. A director is born before our eyes. The last frame, a la Chaplin or The Wizard of Oz, is actually just the beginning.
The reason why everyone is overrating this...
apap-918-4970715 January 2023
This is a moderately engrossing movie with a thin storyline stretched beyond its entertainment limits. The movie leaves you unsatiated both from artistic point of view and from biography point of view.
So why are critics and award factories going ga ga over it?
Steven Spielberg's halo effect is the biggest reason. How can the man with Midas touch be not a mastero when it comes to snippet from his own life. Thirdly, the actors have done a great job and music is great. Photography is lovely too. Direction is fine.
Just the overall movie comes out as slightly above average fare. If it was not Speilberg's name this movie would get rated 6-7. But because it is Speilberg's name I would give it only 6 stars. Expected more from him.
So why are critics and award factories going ga ga over it?
Steven Spielberg's halo effect is the biggest reason. How can the man with Midas touch be not a mastero when it comes to snippet from his own life. Thirdly, the actors have done a great job and music is great. Photography is lovely too. Direction is fine.
Just the overall movie comes out as slightly above average fare. If it was not Speilberg's name this movie would get rated 6-7. But because it is Speilberg's name I would give it only 6 stars. Expected more from him.
A movie about artist, by an artist, for artist.
subxerogravity13 November 2022
Warning: Spoilers
I can't shake the fact that there is something very pompous about Steven Spielberg making a fictional movie about his real life. It does not help that I first herd of this film after watching a documentary on HBO called Spielberg in which Steve and his family tell the same story as the Fabelmans. It's not like the movie Crooklyn which is a Spike Lee joint about Spike Lee and his family. I think it hits me as arrogant because we know from the jump Sammy Fabelman is Spielberg cause from the jump its all about Sammy making films.
It's a great movie for artist because it's all about the love of the art and your wiliness to sacrifice for that art. It's also for those who are stuck or feel stuck because they feel unable to truly express themselves. A fantastic coming of Age story about a man who could not do anything else but follow his dreams.
It makes you wonder weather Spielberg's upbringing was that interesting or is Spielberg soooo good at telling a story that he could make anyone's life look interesting? A little bit of both but with his streak of great stories including this one I have to lean or towards the latter.
It's a great movie for artist because it's all about the love of the art and your wiliness to sacrifice for that art. It's also for those who are stuck or feel stuck because they feel unable to truly express themselves. A fantastic coming of Age story about a man who could not do anything else but follow his dreams.
It makes you wonder weather Spielberg's upbringing was that interesting or is Spielberg soooo good at telling a story that he could make anyone's life look interesting? A little bit of both but with his streak of great stories including this one I have to lean or towards the latter.
Disappointed
bwadsworth029-797-38657830 November 2022
I read a lot of reviews on this movie before seeing it because I was taking my 11 year old son and did not want him to be bored but rather inspired to chase his dreams. A lot of bad reviews on rotten tomatoes but the overall score of 8.3 on IMDB and because it's Spielberg we decided to go. It succeeded in boredom but failed in the inspiration department. We don't need constant action but the script and screenplay were mediocre at best. Here is a small tip from an average movie fan to the most successful movie director of all time: Learn how to edit! Take out the boring scenes! People are able to tell stories in an hour and 45 minutes it happens all the time. At least half of the first hour should have been left on the cutting room floor.
If this film is nominated for an Oscar then it's a bad year for movies. I would never consider watching it again and Spielberg is responsible for the only movie to date I have rushed back to the theaters to watch again and that is Saving Private Ryan.
If this film is nominated for an Oscar then it's a bad year for movies. I would never consider watching it again and Spielberg is responsible for the only movie to date I have rushed back to the theaters to watch again and that is Saving Private Ryan.
Uniquely Spielberg
dnkqbzw12 June 2023
Faster, more fun & more lively than it was sold to me, The Fabelmans takes an intimate look at family and individual passions. This film causes you to lean in, become a study of the subject and fall in love with the qualities in Sam Fabelman that we all grew up having. Desiring to make it more than a hobby is such a distinct feeling if you grew up loving & expressing yourself through the arts. The way families grow, change and show support to one another in their own ways is a powerful theme throughout The Fabelmans. All throughout this film, I am reminded of my love for Steven Spielberg and the way he has made movies better throughout his life and mine.
The Fabelmans
henry8-331 January 2023
Semi autobiographical tale from Spielberg which looks at his youth within a living Jewish family and particularly how he developed his love for film making.
The difficulty, if that's the right word, is that with a Spielberg film there comes a number of particular expectations. This doesn't necessary restrict itself to big effects pictures, although they are a part of it, but Spielberg is pure Hollywood and for the first time he has made a film which doesn't follow that path except for the delightful ending. This therefore is not a bad film by any stretch and gave me a number of laughs and some scenes, including when the lead character Sam, edits his camping holiday film, are perfection. The performances are largely strong particularly Michelle Williams as the mother and Paul Dano underplays nicely. I was less keen on Judd Hirsch doing a straight out of central casting rather clumsy Jewish turn or Seth Rogen, rather meh as Dano's best friend. It is a little too long and somewhat episodic but if you love films and Spielberg, it is worth catching this smaller than usual and very personal picture, but expectations need managing.
The difficulty, if that's the right word, is that with a Spielberg film there comes a number of particular expectations. This doesn't necessary restrict itself to big effects pictures, although they are a part of it, but Spielberg is pure Hollywood and for the first time he has made a film which doesn't follow that path except for the delightful ending. This therefore is not a bad film by any stretch and gave me a number of laughs and some scenes, including when the lead character Sam, edits his camping holiday film, are perfection. The performances are largely strong particularly Michelle Williams as the mother and Paul Dano underplays nicely. I was less keen on Judd Hirsch doing a straight out of central casting rather clumsy Jewish turn or Seth Rogen, rather meh as Dano's best friend. It is a little too long and somewhat episodic but if you love films and Spielberg, it is worth catching this smaller than usual and very personal picture, but expectations need managing.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Galina_movie_fan18 January 2023
Many years ago, Steven Spielberg conceived the idea of the movie based on the story of his family and growing up in various states, cities, and towns across the US. By his own admission, he has told the parts of the story in many of his films. For a long time, he could not come to terms with his parents' divorce when he was a teenager and for many years, he blamed his father and almost did not communicate with him. Over time, he learned details that he did not suspect, and in the last years of his parents' life, he was close to both. Both of his parents lived to a ripe old age. His mother died at 97 and his father at 103. While himself in his 70s he was blessed to be a son of two loving living parents. After their death, he finally decided to tell the story about them, about his childhood and adolescence, about the origins of his love for cinema, the love that became his calling, profession, and obsession for life.
The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg's most personal and touching film. It is his Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Amarcord, the New Paradiso Cinema, Radio Days, and The Mirror. While the themes of adolescence and becoming a creative person are similar in these very personal films of the great directors, The Fabelmans is unmistakably a film that only Spielberg, an artist at the peak of his talent and vision, could conceive, write, feel and stage. It is a dedication to the main tool of the filmmaker, his camera, to power and magic with which it entertains, delights, opens up new dimensions, stops moments, and highlights the unexpected essence of things, but can also break hearts and lives. Manipulating the camera shots and angles, Spielberg achieves in the best scenes of his semi-biographical movie the Rashomon's effect and opens his soul to the viewer in a way he has never done before. By the power of his talent, its creator captured the important, happy, and painful moments of the search for meaning and put them on screen as a compelling family portrait. Such sincerity and frankness will be appreciated by the viewer, who is ready to accept them. But the same sincerity and frankness can cause bewilderment, misunderstanding, and even rejection. Spielberg must have known about it, but he had to make the movie anyway. In my opinion, The Fabelmans is an honest, beautiful, and memorable film.
The Fabelmans is Steven Spielberg's most personal and touching film. It is his Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Amarcord, the New Paradiso Cinema, Radio Days, and The Mirror. While the themes of adolescence and becoming a creative person are similar in these very personal films of the great directors, The Fabelmans is unmistakably a film that only Spielberg, an artist at the peak of his talent and vision, could conceive, write, feel and stage. It is a dedication to the main tool of the filmmaker, his camera, to power and magic with which it entertains, delights, opens up new dimensions, stops moments, and highlights the unexpected essence of things, but can also break hearts and lives. Manipulating the camera shots and angles, Spielberg achieves in the best scenes of his semi-biographical movie the Rashomon's effect and opens his soul to the viewer in a way he has never done before. By the power of his talent, its creator captured the important, happy, and painful moments of the search for meaning and put them on screen as a compelling family portrait. Such sincerity and frankness will be appreciated by the viewer, who is ready to accept them. But the same sincerity and frankness can cause bewilderment, misunderstanding, and even rejection. Spielberg must have known about it, but he had to make the movie anyway. In my opinion, The Fabelmans is an honest, beautiful, and memorable film.
Spielberg celebrates himself
Binkconn28 November 2022
A long session on the therapy couch with Steven. How did it turn out so badly? How did this man with so much potential whose career never took flight beyond a few Super 8 shorts end up with so many failed dreams and crushed hopes? The Fabelmans gives you some idea, depicting a horrendous childhood upbringing where we see a boy raised by a nightmarish father given to abominable acts like quitely working on engineering projects and offering supportive advice, and a mother who played beautiful piano and adopted a pet monkey. How Steven even made it out alive is a wonder. Watch this, and weep. Ouch.
Cringe and yawn
rebfear6 February 2023
You could take any random individual off the street, make a movie about their unremarkable childhood, portrayed as though it were extraordinary and the results would be similar. This was so boring. It didn't go anywhere. It would have been slightly better if they had cut it by an hour. Many scenes that seem to be completely irrelevant to the almost non existent storyline are acted with such emotional intensity, as though they were profound moments in a cinematic masterpiece. The overacting made me cringe. Everybody leaving the cinema was saying the same thing. I have 2 toddlers and I'm annoyed I wasted a very rare date night on this.
Best Movie Of 2022
johnseegers8 April 2023
Let's just state the obvious first: Michelle Williams makes this movie. What a great performance helped by being surrounded by other great actors. I can find some validity to other comments, perhaps a tad too long, OK maybe a little melodramatic but what would you expect? I just watched it a second time within a few weeks and found it even better the second time around. I think the last ten minutes are fantastic and still get a chuckle out of thinking about them. Heck if you aren't a Spielberg fan then this won't be for you. If you are it contains pieces of everything great he has ever done. Sure beats the rest of the absolute crap that got churned out in 2022.
A thoughtful if not slightly long autobiography of Steven Spielberg
Benjamin-M-Weilert21 February 2023
Steven Spielberg has been directing films for so many decades that it's actually a little surprising that the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans (2022) took this long to materialize. Because of his years of success as a filmmaker, I already knew some details of Spielberg's rise to the successful director that he is today. Granted, I'm not sure how much of the family drama in The Fabelmans is a direct influence on Spielberg's life or if he manufactured it for the movie itself. Still, it is interesting to see the early budding talent presented in this movie and be able to extrapolate to movies like Jaws (1975), Saving Private Ryan (1998), and Schindler's List (1993).
Perhaps my one qualm with this movie is that it's a bit too long. I understand the desire to show the entire life of Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) to understand the context of the origins of his filmmaking passion, but there could have been much shorter ways to show these moments instead of dedicating almost the entire first act to something that was much less exciting than the rest of the film. Even if it started in the second act, The Fabelmans easily captures that struggle between family and living the life of a dedicated creative.
I really appreciated the conversation about how pursuing a creative passion can really be a challenge for an individual's personal life. Similar to how the leads in La La Land (2016) had to choose between themselves and their dreams, The Fabelmans shows how having an additional way to communicate (in this case, via filmmaking) can sometimes break through barriers and expose hard truths. The unblinking eye of the camera often sees more than we want, whether the bipolar disorder and affair of a mother or how a bully sees themselves as the hero.
A thoughtful if not slightly long autobiography of Steven Spielberg, I give The Fabelmans 4.0 stars out of 5.
Perhaps my one qualm with this movie is that it's a bit too long. I understand the desire to show the entire life of Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle) to understand the context of the origins of his filmmaking passion, but there could have been much shorter ways to show these moments instead of dedicating almost the entire first act to something that was much less exciting than the rest of the film. Even if it started in the second act, The Fabelmans easily captures that struggle between family and living the life of a dedicated creative.
I really appreciated the conversation about how pursuing a creative passion can really be a challenge for an individual's personal life. Similar to how the leads in La La Land (2016) had to choose between themselves and their dreams, The Fabelmans shows how having an additional way to communicate (in this case, via filmmaking) can sometimes break through barriers and expose hard truths. The unblinking eye of the camera often sees more than we want, whether the bipolar disorder and affair of a mother or how a bully sees themselves as the hero.
A thoughtful if not slightly long autobiography of Steven Spielberg, I give The Fabelmans 4.0 stars out of 5.
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