NEW ULM – The New Ulm Film Society will close out its Steven Spielberg director series with the 2022 film “The Fabelmans,” the director’s most personal film to date.

The screening begins at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 at the New Ulm Public Library.

“The Fabelmans” is a coming-of-age drama about a young man, Sammy Fabelman (played by Gabriel LaBelle), who becomes enamored with filmmaking at a young age and how that impacts the way he views his parents, Mitzi and Burt Fabelman, played by Michelle Williams and Paul Dano. 

The movie begins in 1952 New Jersey with The Fabelmans taking Sammy to the movie “The Greatest Show on Earth.” This film screening jump starts Sammy’s interest in filmmaking. From there, his love of moviemaking grows and much of his interest in film is motivated by his parents. However, as Sammy grows as a filmmaker, he begins to realize his family is more dysfunctional than he initially knew. While editing a family vacation video he recorded, Sammy begins to notice cracks in his parents’ marriage that ultimately lead to a divorce. 

“The Fabelmans” is a fascinating film in terms of seeing a young person grow into an artist through the backdrop of their family drama, but what sets the movie apart is that the movie is a loose autobiography of Spielberg’s life.

Spielberg co-wrote the script with Tony Kushner. Sammy Fabelman is intended to be a slightly fictionalized version of Spielberg. Many of the events depicted in the movie; especially those involving filmmaking, were actual events from Spielberg’s life. 

One of the clearest hints this movie is a loose biography is the movie’s title. The family name “Fabelman” includes the word a variation of the word “fable” a synonym for story. This is a play on Spielberg’s own name, which begins with the word “spiel,” which is also a synonym for story.

Just as Sammy Fabelman’s growth as a filmmaker is influenced by his parents and their ultimate divorce, the same is true of Spielberg. Many of Spielberg’s works have tackled the subject of divorce and the impact on the family.

Spielberg initially had the plan to make this movie back in 1999. He was later encouraged by Kushner to write the screenplay after sharing his life story with his co-writer. Even Spielberg’s parents would frequently ask him ‘when he would make a film about them.’ However, Spielberg knew it would be a difficult task to make a movie so close to his real life. He was not able to write the script until 2020. 

Spielberg changed the name of the characters and some of the details, but the director has admitted in later interviews many scenes were directly lifted from his life.

Actor Seth Rogan, who plays Bennie Lowey in the movie, said during the production, Spielberg got extremely emotional while shooting certain scenes. Rogan asked Spielberg if the scene they were filming actually happened. Every time he asked Spielberg this, the director said it was true.

Though most of the characters in the movie are fictionalized versions of real people, Spielberg did include a scene in which Sammy meets legendary director John Ford. In the scene, Ford provides Sammy with valuable advice on how to frame a shot. As an in joke, Spielberg cast another famous director, David Lynch, to play Ford. This was the third time Spielberg has cast a real-life director as an actor in one of his films. 

“The Fablemans” is a movie designed to honor Spielberg’s family, but it is also a film about the art of directing, which is rare to see. Upon its release Fabelman’s received many glowing reviews; specifically from fellow directors. 

Director Denis Villeneuve praised “The Fablemans,” saying it was one of the best films ever made about the power of cinema. 

The New Ulm Film Society’s screening of “The Fablemans” is free to the public. Before and after the film, there will be a discussion about the film’s place in film history.