Steven Spielberg's movies all take inspiration from his life, but he goes for full-on autobiography in "The Fabelmans."
The name was changed from "Spielberg" to "Fabelman," but the comedy/drama is the story of how Spielberg became a filmmaker after he received a movie camera as a gift and his parents took him to see the wretched "The Greatest Show on Earth." (It was a hit and an Oscar winner, so let's not fault them on their taste.)
By far the best scenes in "Fabelmans" show adolescent Steven — sorry, Sammy — filming his family, then editing that into a movie that shapes his understanding of the world around him. That peaks in an intense sequence when, studying the background of home movies of a family camping trip, he realizes that his mom (Michelle Williams) is having an affair with a family friend (Seth Rogen).
