Steven Spielberg’s new film is released in cinemas on the 27th January.
The Guardian: ***** “As with so many autobiographical movies, so much incidental pleasure lies in wondering what is real and what has been changed, and why? I wonder if the real Spielberg ever got to confront his mother as directly as Sammy manages to. And as for the ultimate art of editing, I also wonder if Spielberg ever envisaged a barmitzvah scene for the film that he then cut? Would such a scene be too obvious, or a distraction from his real religion? The Fabelmans left me with a floating feeling of happiness.”
The Telegraph: ***** “The Fabelmans offers a gloriously tender origin story for Spielberg’s life and work, led by a wildly charming Gabriel LaBelle.”
The FT: ***** “Williams is terrific. It also makes sense that Spielberg started the project after the death of his mother, Leah Adler. This is the true love letter, one as acutely human as people are.”
The Independent: **** “Spielberg’s motivation for The Fabelmans has little to do with cementing his own myth – it’s a more tender, more bittersweet journey towards the realisation that, though the camera never lies, what it shows us can be hard to swallow.”
Digital Spy: **** “Still, it’s captivatingly made and well-acted enough that even if you’re not totally satisfied, the film still accomplishes the feat of transporting you to a world you may not have known otherwise, and being entertaining along the way.”
Empire: ***** “After previously seeing them all wrapped up in genre, it feels gently shocking to discover so candidly where some of the thematic elements in Spielberg’s work stem from, especially the fractured family storylines threaded through Close Encounters and E.T., with their search for connection from elsewhere. Yet also, this film is the result of all of that filmmaking, 50 years of craft culminating in the story of his life. The very final shot makes it all clear: it’s all about perspective. So yes, only now, heading towards 80, was he ready to make this film, and make it this good. It’s a glowing, transcendent tribute to his mum and dad. It finishes joyfully, and your heart is fed.”
Evening Standard: ***** “Spielberg has realised that fables come in all shapes and sizes. In this hilarious and heart-breaking gem, small really is beautiful.”
Radio Times: ***** “As the movie memoir progresses, cinephiles are spoilt by neat nods to Spielberg’s oeuvre and the experiences that shaped it, but The Fabelmans is not solely for film buffs. Like the best of Spielberg’s sentimental blockbusters, this story is told with irresistible brio and next to frequent cinematographer Janusz Kamiński, the director dazzles by making what could be mundane wondrous. Never before have film strips being cut together on an editing machine, or a model train set being crashed in a garage, been so thrilling and cinematic.”
BFI.org.uk: “The film may be permeated by filial anxiety, but it’s powerfully underwritten by the voice of maternal reassurance.”