The Fabelmans

2022
12A
2h 31m

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

127K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

Play trailer1:31

Coming-of-Age Period Drama Showbiz Drama Teen Drama Drama

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the ... Read allGrowing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

Director
- Steven Spielberg
Writers
- Steven Spielberg
- Tony Kushner
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.5/10

127K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

1,383

477

Director
- Steven Spielberg
Writers
- Steven Spielberg
- Tony Kushner
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 7 Oscars
- 31 wins & 299 nominations total

Videos38

Oscars 2023 Best Picture Nominees

Photos611

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RiffTrax: Ready Player One

Storyline

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Trivia
Steven Spielberg said his parents had been "nagging" him to put them on the big screen prior to their deaths. "They were actually nagging me, 'When are you going to tell that story about our family, Steve?' And so this was something they were very enthusiastic about," he said. He also shared what finally prompted him to make The Fabelmans: "I started seriously thinking, if I had to make one movie I haven't made yet, something that I really want to do on a very personally atomic level, what would that be? And there was only one story I really wanted to tell." He also said The Fabelmans is "the first coming-of-age story I've ever told." "My life with my mom and dad taught me a lesson, which I hope this film in a small way imparts," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Which is, when does a young person in a family start to see his parents as human beings? In my case, because of what happened between the ages of 7 and 18, I started to appreciate my mom and dad not as parents but as real people."

Goofs
Younger Sammy Fabelman's eyes are blue, while the older Sammy Fablelman's eyes are brown.

Quotes
John Ford: When the horizon's at the bottom, it's interesting. When the horizon's at the top, it's interesting. When the horizon's in the middle, it's boring as shit. Now, good luck to you. And get the fuck out of my office!

Crazy credits
Two dedications to Spielberg's real life parents Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg appear after the closing credits.

Connections
Featured in Amanda the Jedi Show: This Movie was Shockingly Terrible - Best and Worst of TIFF 2022 (2022)

Soundtracks
The Greatest Show on Earth
from The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Written by Victor Young, Ned Washington
Performed by the Paramount Studios Band
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

User reviews533

Featured review

8/10

"A movie is a dream you never forget"

It's watching Steven Spielberg grow up from a child terrified by the train crash in THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, to an adolescent film maker. He's pretty up front about the family issues and his parents' break up. I suspect he has realized that being an adult is a tough thing and is willing to forgive.

At 150 minutes, it should feel self indulgent, but it never does, thanks to a terrific performance by Michelle Williams as the mother and Paul Dano as the father. No one seems to be acting, which is half the Spielberg magic. There are also great cameos by Judd Hirsch as the profane uncle who was a lion tamer, and David Lynch as John Ford.

Some of the characters seem sketchily drawn, particularly the sisters, but that serves to emphasize Miss Williams, Dano, and Gabriel LaBelle as the Steven Spielberg character. Is she t that Spielberg and his frequent collaborator Tony Kühner, have drawn a fine portrait of a Jewish post-war family, when things were supposed to be so very bland... but really, people were living their lives.