Kid’s take on movies: ‘The Fabelmans’

The Fabelmans is a touching and mesmerizing film that celebrates acclaimed director Steven Spielberg while recounting his origins as a filmmaker. The film is absolutely emotional; it’s mainly about family and deals with the vicissitudes of family interaction while paying homage to cinema.

As a kid, Sam Fabelman learns an important lesson from his father, one of the basic principles of filmmaking: retinal persistence. Like magic, films are a simple succession of still images that give the illusion of movement. When Sammy attends his first movie projection, the event turns into a life-changing experience.

The story follows his life while he discovers his passion for movie making supported by his family: his dad, Burt (Paul Dano), his mother, Mitzi (Michelle Williams), his three sisters and his uncle Ben (Seth Rogen). His father is an electrical engineer, his mother a concept piano player, and the fusion of technicality with art certainly shaped his craft.

The family’s dynamic was beautiful yet cloudy at times; a source material turned in melodrama, perfect for great storytelling.

I love the humanity that The Fabelmans displays. And I loved the way the film showed and captured Sam’s life overall, in the sense that it didn’t just feel like you were watching a story. I could really understand and feel the emotions Sam was feeling.

The core of the storyline are the characters and the relationships between them. The Fabelmans are not a perfect family, but they stand out in their unity and the bond between them. The relationship between Sam and his mom, masterfully performed by Michelle Williams, is mesmerizing to watch. There’s complicity that it is put to the test, generating wonderful conflict. Williams’ scenes are like study material for an actor. But every cast member is great at their craft in this film.

Janusz Kaminski’s photography resembles the era and has the perfect warmth, and the score of John Williams stays in our hearts.

I give The Fabelmans 5 out of 5 stars and recommend it for kids 12 to 18 and adults.