Review of The Fabelmans (2022) by Jluis_001 — 30 Nov 2022

I didn't find it a moving film per se, perhaps because my emotions about what I was seeing on screen had little to do with the emotions Spielberg was reflecting in this story, but I still think it's a very good film.

I suppose Spielberg was more focused on the idea of romanticizing the themes that were being explored, which have a lot to do with talent and the conflicts that arise between the artistic impulse and personal responsibilities.

Spielberg writes a love letter to himself, understanding that he just needed to create a certain path without being burdened by the foolishness of many autobiographies of wanting to pile up any number of events to believe that they can compress a whole life into a few hours.

To my mind, the idea of The Fabelmans is not to make you believe that it all happened or that it happened just as you see it on the screen, but rather it is a story about discovering who you are and what it takes to accept that to commit to following that path in the pursuit of your happiness, even in the face of all the bumps you're going to encounter along the way.

The depth of its plot and its strengths lie not in the need for it to be resolved, but for you to savor the details.

And that's why, though I only tend to do so with very few films, The Fabelmans needs further viewings.

At this point I can say that Spielberg is going to bag his third Oscar as a director.