New Jersey, early 1950s. Having been to a movie theater for the first time in his life and seeing a train wreck on the screen, little Sammy Fabelman was so impressed that he nearly broke an expensive toy railroad when he tried to reenact the accident. For therapeutic purposes, his mother suggests that the boy film the toy crash on an 8mm camera. This is how a childhood hobby and filming goofy home movies grows into a great love and lifelong passion for Sam: directing movies.
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As a young boy Sammy, fascinated by ‘The Last Show on Earth’, begins to dream of filming in the big movie industry. In his early twenties he realizes that it’s not a hobby, but a real job. And art requires sacrifice. But who better than those closest to him to understand loss or lost dreams. The members of the Jewish family understand that their son has a great talent that will make a man out of him in the future.
The actors: among Hollywood’s terrific stars, Gabriel LaBelle stands out, whose portrayal of growing up Sammy grabs the attention from the first minutes of the film. The way he feels the frame, mounts the film, and tries to portray the shooting with the usual editing trickery is magic. That’s not to say the screen boy grew up, but he didn’t grow up. At least in the first half of the film. He goes slowly toward the realization that love (especially in his family) does not last forever, but that mother-son love will last. The slower he goes, the more he realizes that the motive to keep strong nerves, and the bond of kinship is also hard work. He has a choice to make, based on Uncle Boris’ instructions to his mother’s mother (played by Judd Hersh), whose appearance on the doorstep of the Fabelmans’ house (judging from a prophetic dream that does not bode well). Something about the dreams and hobbies Jud’s character understood, so he sets the boy on a path of true meaning. He would become the boy’s voice of conscience, and already Sammy would have to choose between art or loyalty to his family.
Paul Dano plays the head of an old-school family with outdated family traditions. The closer his character agonizes over not expressing it in emotion, keeping it all to himself and getting a little closer to the truth, the scarier his invisible observation of his wife becomes. He tries to be a role model for his children, having raised them with his wife. But no one tells him that there is another life, too. A fairy tale doesn’t always have to have a ‘happily ever after’. So from the breakup of the relationship he would just disappear. Neither would his dreams – sharing a couple with someone he trusted – he didn’t want to lose.
The brilliant starlet shining under the vaults of the car headlights was Michelle Williams, who proved that she is also a woman who demands her own happiness with her boundless soul.
The father of the Fabelman family, realizing that he will not become a role model or teach his wife to enjoy the simple little things in the quiet family circle, becomes an invisible participant in the affair, hovering over his beloved. Who but Benny embodies the stumbling block to Dano’s character, though he fits pleasantly into the family camp without much difficulty. Rogen’s comic image (finally applied in a dramatic film, not a comedy) can give the joy of life to a loved one, and another – to plunge into depression. Even though the family is religious, Seth’s character forgets an important commandment (I’m sure the Jews have a similar commandment): ‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.’ The hero merely reminds us that there is no such thing as a perfect marriage, and that love, like happiness, can appear out of nowhere.
Everything else: Certainly the maestro talks with Tony Kushner about what happened during his childhood years when he lived in Arizona. The story is not without moves that mark the boy’s future film-related career. From there, ‘The Fabelmans’ became a personal project for the director, and Stephen had been building the plot for years. It is quite that in the script, he spelled out the characters of his mother, his beloved uncle (played by Rogen), but do not forget about the sincerity of the picture. With what tenderness and love the author of the script and the director about his best years, when he took a portable camera and filmed everything that helped him, as well as the main character. Yes, he is the protagonist of the whole story. In part. Only while watching it, you don’t pay much attention to Spielberg’s resemblance to his screen protégé. You pay more attention to the brilliant close-up work and the rest of the setting around the characters: from her spontaneous trip to the tornado to the big movie theater, where many gathered to see the masterfully glued author’s work of the young talent. The film shows how each of us dreams about something. Someone achieves it, and someone does not get it, even though he tries a lot for the benefit of his family. Still, you can’t do without the support of your relatives. The son – goes the way of a cameraman and gradually gets closer to the cherished production; the mother – a unique queen of the stage has not lost her musical fervor (largely due to true love), but she had to give up the dream; the father – follows his outdated principles and does not stop working. The hero does everything to ennoble and strengthen the family nest (knowing deep down that it is useless) Each pursues his own goal. The bridge of family values, which for so long and persistently built around them, the hero can shake just because everyone is dreaming of his own thing. At the same time, no one thinks about what they will sacrifice in order to remain themselves and truly be a happy man.
This is Spielberg’s second self-produced (albeit co-authored) work since he made ‘Artificial Intelligence’ 21 years ago.
My tribute to Janusz Kaminski, who showed all the most memorable moments (still more memorable is the scene where Michelle Williams dances through the headlights).
Every tune played on the piano by Williams’ character is captivating and beckoning (even in the disturbing moments during Sammy’s film development). One would like to believe that despite the well-deserved departure of John Williams (perhaps this film and the fifth ‘Indiana Jones’ film will be the last of his career) working with Spielberg 29 times will turn out worthy.
The project was produced by Christy Makosko with Tony Kushner and Spielberg.
Impressions: Stephen’s drama, which premiered in Toronto, is worth a look if you’re curious to see what the director’s aspirations were based on, backed by Kushner’s scripted fiction. There is a sincere, interesting and relaxed atmosphere to the film. And Williams’ music tries to carry you along, quietly encouraging you to see it through to the end.
Info Blu-ray
Video
Codec: HEVC / H.265 (62.4 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Audio
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 5.1
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish (Latino): Dolby Digital Plus 7.1
Subtitles
English SDH, French, Spanish.
