The Fabelmans

I remember in the summer of 1986 i was hanging out at Nicklas home ( a school friend of mine who had the biggest VHS collection i have ever seen ) and his parents bought a lot of VHS films from a Home Entertainment club. I remember especially this summer because they had bought both of the Indiana Jones movies, the first one called Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark and the other one called Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom on VHS. We watched both films that night in Nicklas room and this was the very first time i fell in love with the Indiana Jones films. Harrison Ford as the snake hating archeologist Indiana Jones was the perfect character for a real adventure that took him worldwide. I did see the third film Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade in cinema several years after this, i believe i saw it in cinema in early 1990 ( even though i was too young to see it, but it was all worth it ). I also loved this sequel as well and there was just something magical about the Indiana Jones trilogy. I could probably talk all day long about my love for the 3 first Indiana Jones films ( i appreciate the 4th film even though it is not as good as the previous ones ), but one important detail about these films is that they are all directed by legendary director Steven Spielberg. Most movie lovers have a favourite Steven Spielberg film no matter if we are talking about E.T., Jaws, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, Jurassic Park, Schindler´s List, the list never ends. Steven Spielberg have created movie magic for so many years that it is hard to pick a favourite. But if i had to pick one i believe i would probably choose the 1998 war movie Saving Private Ryan with Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Ted Danson, Edward Burns and Tom Sizemore among others. A really powerful war movie that capture you right from the start with really strong acting performances, and very dramatic war scenes. A must see if you have not seen it, and listen to the commentary track of this film, no matter if you pick up the DVD or Blu Ray. There are several interesting details you will find out there that could be interesting. For quite some time director Steven Spielberg have had an idea of a movie telling the story of him growing up as he fell in love with movies and how he was inspired to become a film maker. And here we are with his latest film The Fabelmans that is said to be a film that really shows how his passion for films started, and i have been really curious to see this film for a long time. I finally did get a chance to see the film in cinema, so is this the best Steven Spielberg film in many years, or is the magic of Spielberg not as magical as it used to be?

On the night of January 10, 1952, in Haddon Township, New Jersey, Jewish couple Mitzi Schildkraut-Fabelman ( Michelle Williams ) and Burt Fabelman ( Paul Dano ) take their young son Samuel Fabelman ( Mateo Zoryan Francis-DeFord ) to see his first film Cecile B. Demille´s The Greatest Show On Earth. Dazzled by a scene involving a train, Samuel asks for a model set for Hannukah, which he crashes one night. Mitzi, understanding Samuel´s intentions, allows him to shoot another crash scene using Burt´s 8 MM camera. This is where Samuel begins his journey into making home made films and learning the process of film making. As teenage Samuel ( Gabriel LaBelle ) begin to proof his directing skills, he is also forced to see his own mother having depression problems. No matter what will happen in his family home, he understands that he can´t leave his passion for films behind.

If you grew up watching movies in cinema like i did you are going to love The Fabelmans. This is a true love letter to movie making and to cinema magic as well. You can really feel the passion for film making in this film right from the start to the very end, and this is clearly a film that director Steven Spielberg have a lot of passion for. It must have been quite special growing up during the 1960´s and learn the process of film making. This was at a time when they could not use any digital effects or computers, it was all done by trick filming, when to cut scenes and making practical effects work. But this is just not a film about the passion for film making but also a story of a family and all the challenges they face in ordinary life as well as hard times. Every family go through this and i feel that this film manage to capture both wonderful moments as well as the sad moments. The Fabelmans is a film that brings up the subject of struggling with depression, in this case we see this with the character mother Mitzi ( played really powerful by wonderful actress Michelle Williams ). I have met a lot of people struggling with depression in my 24 years in health care, so i actually think that the way Michelle portrait this in the film is very realistic. And i think it is very important that this film doesn´t only give you the glorious magic of cinema, that there is another reality out there that a lot of families can relate to. The acting in The Fabelmans is really good from many characters and i especially connect with the lead character Samuel Fabelman played by actor Gabriel LaBelle ( who i have seen in the 2018 film The Predator ). Gabriel really capture the magical feeling of the character Samuel and his passion for film making, and you really feel how much movies mean in his life. Comedian and actor Seth Rogen actually surprised me in this film as the character Bennie, he´s actually a good actor if he gets the right role. Legendary actor Judd Hirsch ( who can forget him from the 1996 classic Independence Day ) as granduncle Boris is absolutely amazing. I wish we could have seen more of him in this film. Even if The Fabelmans does not tell the whole truth of Steven Spielberg´s childhood you can actually feel that this film show a part of who he was in his youth. How talented he was and learned to create magic with his own view of the world. The Fabelmans is definetely a film that will please people who love movies, who grew up in the cinema and also for future film makers. This film also show that no matter what passion you have in life, never stop working hard to reach your goals, no matter how rough the journey may be. Director Steven Spielberg deliver a very professional, charming story that will touch a lot of hearts out there. Once again he proves why is is such an amazing director and i can not wait to see The Fabelmans again, a must watch on the big cinema screen.

Rating: DDDD