THE FABELMANS

Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Judd Hirsch, Seth Rogen, Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord, David Lynch

Steven Spielberg has frequently used his family and childhood as themes in his films like E.T. The Extra Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Now, he faces his past head on in The Fabelmans. This is the fourth film between Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner after Munich, Lincoln, and West Side Story. Together they’ve written The Fabelmans as a meditation and collective healing over some Spielberg’s personal childhood traumas stemming from being Jewish and having divorced parents. In the movie, he’s named Sammy and played by Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord and Gabriel LaBella at different ages. He’s introduced to the movies by his parents Mitzi and Burt. That movie is The Greatest Show on Earth and from there a love for the cinema was born. Immediately, he wanted a train set for Hannukah so he could recreate a famous scene in the film. For the rest of his life, a camera would always be attached to him capturing precious family moments, family moves to different cities, and home movies he made with friends. 

Here’s my review