Sonic Biondi✝️🍉’s review published on Letterboxd:
It’s kinda cliché to have those “literally me” characters, especially with this film in particular, but I can’t help but see so much of myself in Sammy Fabelman: we’re both children of parents inheriting their realistic and optimistic qualities, we both know our visions well even if we aren’t very good at communicating them, we both struggle to maintain the balance of family life and our passions, and we’re both really bad at algebra. But what solidifies this connection, I feel like, is towards the end where Sammy has a panic attack not being accepted into any film studios and refusing to go into college, the idea that college and so-called “higher learning” keeps you from what you truly wish to achieve and the fear that the world doesn’t truly care for what you say unless you have some kind of status.
The Fabelmans could not have come at a better time in my life. I’m a senior in high school, about to graduate and enter the “real world” to choose the path I go on for the rest of my life, and as this happens, Steven Spielberg grows old and reflects on his own youth, a film so inclined to inspire the forthcoming generation of filmmakers in a world where the love of art is needed the most. It’s a very honest portrayal of his life story, obviously indulging in the passion of filmmaking while showing the truth of the nature of his family’s circumstances and the lengths your passion could truly go to: beginning as a childhood obsession, eventually becoming a career. Although Spielberg is a legend to us now, we must remember he used to be just like us: a dreamer with his head in the clouds, an optimist, someone who took advantage of his beneficial birthright of his passions and reached for the stars. As corny as this may sound, the epilogue of Spielberg’s filmography occurring at the same time as the prologue of so many people’s, including myself, has to be some kind of spiritual connection. People nowadays have more resources than ever to get their start, it’s just the audiences that have turned away to the mass appeal of art - until someone reminds them of its power, like Spielberg did for his generation.
Like Sammy, I’ve been trying to balance out my priorities with the circumstances of being placed in a large family. I’ve begun directing/producing/writing an animated series, a passion project of mine that I’m currently working on with so many different people of different backgrounds and passions (voice actors, singers, composers, sound editors, animators, artists, etc. all under my direction), but while that’s happening, so many weird things are going on in my family and personal life that makes it difficult to devote all my time to my passion. Time goes by so quickly that I don’t stop to realize the moments wasted, and whenever I do realize the moments I’ve wasted it deeply upsets me. Not being able to accomplish anything just because of the refusal of my motivation (or lack thereof), all because of something that happened to me that day or that moment. In The Fabelmans, and my own life, family tragedy directly intertwines with devotion to what others consider “hobbies”. Sometimes people don’t understand what you’re passionate about, and sometimes what you’re passionate about causes you to not understand others. There is a truth, a reality to every image captured on a screen, sourcing back to the mind of its creator, meaning given by what they intend to capture. No matter what it is, these images help us see the truth of something, someone, as they are put in motion, we are given the illusion of life, a reality captured within a screen reflecting our own in some way, a mirror into the human psyche. Life may not be like the movies, but the movies are like life.
Your vision is precious and deserves to be heard. It doesn’t matter how it’s received, as long as it’s your own and you feel confident in conveying it, it’s genuine. Make the art you want to make, partake in the passions you wish to pursue. By spending time listening to everyone shouting “no” and taking it for what it’s worth, you’re only limiting yourself. There is value in everyone, so don’t let that value go to waste.
