Best Motion Picture – Drama – Nomine
For the past fifty years, Steven Spielberg has worn his professional heart on his sleeve for the world to see. The commercial and artistic success of such films as Saving Private Ryan, E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Schindler’s List and Jaws has allowed the filmmaker to quietly tell stories that personally resonated. But his private side, the scenes and sections of his childhood, were only given rare previews during journalistic enquiries. That is until now.
The Fabelmans is the Oscar and Golden Globe-winning director’s therapeutic kaleidoscope into not only his pathway to becoming the most successful director in motion picture history, but his very personal familial dealings and how they shaped the man he stands out as today.
Acknowledging that he has been thinking about telling this story for a long time, Spielberg never thought the time would be right to make the foray. That is, until COVID hit. During the downtime, he turned to his frequent collaborator Tony Kushner (Angels in America, Lincoln), who became somewhat of a therapist, coaxing out the childhood memories that would serve as the foundation to the film.
“When COVID hit, we had a lot of time and a lot of fear,” Spielberg revealed during the press interviews at the Toronto Film festival. “I don’t think anyone back in March of 2020 know what the state of the art or even life would be a year from then. As things got worse, I just felt that if I was going to leave anything behind, what is the thing I really need to resolve and unpack about my mom, my dad and my sisters. I just felt that time was now.”
The film begins in 1952 when five-year-old Sammy is taken by his parents (Paul Dano and Michelle Williams) to see The Greatest Show on Earth. The exhilaration of that youth watching a disastrous train crash inspired him to go home and try and cinematically replicate that thrill. With encouragement from his mom, he grows more confident and ambitious with his venture and soon the teenage Sammy (Gabrielle LaBelle) has recruited all his friends to make his short films.
During one of his uninterrupted filming of his family, he captures a fleeting moment that will forever change not only his relationship with his parents, but his own desires and aspirations. How does one learn to accept the imperfections of others while embracing the excellence within yourself?
“I thought this was going to be a lot easier than it turned out to be,” he laughs during that same Toronto interview. “I know the material and I know all the characters…and yet, I found this to be, for me, a very daunting experience.  I was attempting, in a semi-autobiographical way, to recreate huge recollections, not only in my life, but in the lives of my three sisters, my mother and my father.”
Those memories have now been recognized with five Golden Globe nominations, including Best Picture (Drama), Best Director and Best Actress.