Steven Spielberg’s latest release The Fabelmans is among the most talked about movies in the film festival circuit this year. The director’s semi-autobiographical drama had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, has critics and fans intrigued alike, and has recently bagged five Golden Globe Awards nominations including Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director for Spielberg.
“Most of my movies have been a reflection of things that happened to me but in the sense of The Fabelmans it wasn’t about metaphor, it was about memory,” the director says in a new trailer of the movie. The over-a-minute clip features several vulnerable moments and memories from Sammy’s life with his family that shaped the person he turns out to be. It does a great deal of bringing out the emotional complexities, highs, and lows of each character and charms the audience to know more about the Fabelmans family.
The new feature is quite close to Spielberg’s heart as the celebrated director goes down the memory lane with co-writer and long-time collaborator Tony Kushner to bring out a heartfelt story. Inspired by his own life, the movie follows Sammy, who’s growing up in post-World War II era Arizona and aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence. Growing up between an artistic mother and a scientific father he’s seen conflicted about following his passion for filmmaking. However, things take a turn when he discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
The Fabelmans gives fans a peek inside the heart and mind of one of the most commercially and critically successful directors of all time. Spielberg rose to prominence with the 1975 summer blockbuster Jaws. He then made features like the Indiana Jones series, Jurassic Park, Schindler's List, and more. The film stars Gabriel LaBelle as 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman, Michelle Williams as his artistic mother, Mitzi, Paul Dano as his scientific father, Burt, Seth Rogen as Bennie Loewy, honorary uncle to the Fabelman children, and Judd Hirsch as Mitzi’s Uncle Boris.
The ensemble cast includes Jeannie Berlin as Sammy’s paternal grandmother, Hadassah Fabelman, Julia Butters as Sammy’s sister Reggie, Robin Bartlett as Sammy’s maternal grandmother Tina Schildkraut and Keeley Karsten as Sammy’s sister Natalie. The movie is produced by Spielberg and Kushner along side Kristie Macosko Krieger while executive producers include Carla Raij and Josh McLaglen.
The Fabelmans is now playing in theaters. You can check out the new trailer below: