Fabelmans is an excellent film by Spielberg, which unexpectedly flew past the Oscars

Probably, the main sensation of the last Oscar was the lack of awards from the Fabelmans, one of the main favorites of the award. Despite the fact that the film academy did not give Steven Spielberg a statuette, the film still deserves attention.

It stars Gabriel LaBelle, Michelle Williams, Paul Dano and Seth Rogen.

The protagonist of the film is Steven Spielberg, whose name in the film is Sam Fabelman. At the age of six, he visits the cinema for the first time, after which he falls in love with cinema forever. He learns to shoot, edit film and write scripts. Because of the father changing jobs, the family often moves. Shooting amateur films becomes for Sam not only the main hobby, but also a way to contact with peers. Sometimes cinema also brings problems: looking at the footage taken during a family trip, the hero realizes that his mother in love to a family friend.

Question of self-determination

Young Sammy loves cinema both as a viewer and as an author. Others perceive his hobby as a hobby. But over the years, his passion does not fade away - and this becomes a problem. He does not study well at school, finds it difficult to find a common language with his peers, is physically weak - all his strength is directed to the cinema.

Over time, he begins to annoy the very word "hobby”, because it does not describe Sam's attitude to the movie. However, it is impossible to explain to the father the reasons why he is ready to exchange the future of a representative of the middle class for a hobby - they do not understand him.

In a few scenes, the current Spielberg is talking to himself, but as a teenager. The mother's uncle, who comes to visit for one day, argues that you cannot combine family and art - they can tear a person apart. As if the director warns himself, but through the mouth of a strange character.

But if the words of a distant relative seem abstract, then the life of the mother looks like the embodiment of his words. His mother chose a family and practically abandoned musicfor which he suffers. She is happy when she plays the piano, and Benny's father's friend is also a source of inspiration - the rest of her life seems to her a sickly routine. She knows how to do the "right" thing, but she can't get Benny out of her life. Sam is also well aware that he should study and not think about cinema, but, like his mother, he makes the “wrong” choice.

Distribution of roles

Perhaps Steven Spielberg was already very carried away by the main character, so he invented a too artificial world around him (himself). And Tony Kushner (a playwright who comes to cinema only at the call of Spielberg) got carried away with him.

Sam is surrounded by characters who embody different views of the world. Mother is a person of art. She is a little crazy, her mood is changeable, she cannot be faithful. But she shows Sam what happens when you lock such a nature into the framework of a standard family.

The role of the father in the film is reduced to the fact that he explains to his son the principle by which the image in the cinema works. In general, this is where his influence ends. He is too passionate about work to understand his son's love for art, he is more concerned with real things. It embodies pragmatism middle class.

Distant relatives with their episodic roles perform simpler tasks. The grandmother serves as a reminder of the hero's Jewish ancestry, and her brother is an example of the rejection of family traditions. A school girlfriend in love with Jesus Christ (perhaps the funniest character in the picture) is only needed for Sam to choose between cinema and love. The bullies who attack Sam teach him to contact the world through art.

All the characters are written superbly, but the service destroys them. With careful viewing, you can guess not only the subsequent actions of the characters, but also the approximate number of times they will appear on the screen. They carry a missionconvince, tell, suggest), and after its completion disappear. It reminds me of an excellent student's essay, where everything is too correct.

Exploring your family

Steven Spielberg said that the work on "Fabelmans" is an attempt to return parents. Before watching, it may seem that we are talking about childhood and parents who are no longer alive. In fact, everything is a little more complicated.

The hero's mother has been in love with his father's friend for years. As long as she managed to hide it, the Fabelman family was happy. Rare antics of the mother (run to tornado, depict suffering, suddenly start dancing) were perceived as eccentricities. However, the moment Sam finds out about his mother's infidelity, he stops considering her a good person. Her antics (both past and new) now look like a manifestation of selfishness. The teenager simply ceases to trust his mother, her image is destroyed.

The image of his father is also crumbling: Sam understands that dad is only passionate about his work, so he is ready not to notice his wife's infidelity. Because of this, a loving (and beloved) family ceases to be as bright as before.

Personal and not scary

In relation to the "Fabelmans" they constantly use the words "personal", "honest", "sincere". These may be fair characterizations, but Spielberg doesn't reveal anything worth hiding. He was beaten at school, he was withdrawn, he was angry because of his parents - this is hardly a story that is difficult to share. By the way, the movie was released last year.bardo”, in which Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu also talks about himself: about the death of a newborn child, betrayed ideals, distrust of his people and much more. His "personal" was accompanied by pain and suffering, and black humor only allowed him to cover up emotions a little. In Spielberg's "personal" there is an idealized childhood that is violated by parents.

This does not mean that you have to live a terrible life in order to make a movie about it - just do not fall for a marketing trick, Spielberg will not tell any secrets. By the way, he is not only a great director, but also a brilliant producer - this is worth remembering when he gives an interview before the release of a new film.

Best end scene

Despite the fact that the whole film is a symbiosis of a very clever script and an incredible technical work, Spielberg saves the best scene for the finale. Perhaps this is the only episode of the picture in which the director moves away from sketchiness.

Sam finds himself in the office of John Ford, the director who, for the entire Spielberg generation, was a god. For several minutes, Ford, nervously smoking a cigar, torments the teenager and explains to him where the horizon line should be located to make the shot interesting. While Sam is digesting what was said, the great director says: Now get the fuck out of here (“Get out of here”).

The lack of real guidance and moralizing looks fresh after two hours of "important" advice. The appearance of John Ford is not due to anything other than Spielberg's desire to make a bright scene - and there is a drive in this, the same one that Sam lives for.

Steven Spielberg told a rather simple story about how he fell in love with cinema. He wrote a wonderful script, assembled a brilliant film crew and invited wonderful actors. Not surprisingly, the film turned out to be professional - really good, and it deservedly claimed an Oscar. "Fabelmany" entertains with childish naivety and understandable plots, so many people will like it. But it is unlikely that among those who highly appreciated the film, many will want to review it - it will be boring.