 You are totally doing bad on purpose. You're not drinking water. I've never heard that in my life. Only when I'm really thirsty. Welcome back to Life Lessons in Film. Hello. Today we're going to be making sense of life through The Fablemen's. It's a loosely biological film about... Biological? Does it say biological? I meant... We should go to bed. We should go to bed. I think we can do it. I think we'll do it. It'll just be a bit sloppy. Yeah, loosely a biographical film about Steven Spielberg's early years. Going through teenage and then like early college. Pursuing trying to be a film director. Balls his life family. Mostly focuses on his family and the dysfunction they're in. Like what got him interested in movies. And then how he starts making movies as a kid. And just kind of takes and he keeps doing that forever. His mother was very interesting. I'm still upset about the mom. I gotta say I am. Yeah, I'll be upset for a while I think. Does it fair to say she was a mess? I don't like calling people a mess. No, because heck I'm a mess. But I feel like she was very self-involved. Maybe she was neglected and kind of ignored by the husband who seemed to be more preoccupied with his work and with science and the other things that occupied him. Maybe he wasn't the most present husband, you know? I don't know. He would watch her play and literally be on the verge of tears. I do not think that the husband was not present. Like they said, he worshipped her really. Yeah, he worshipped her like the kid says. And I feel like there is a chance that she had bigger dreams for herself because we later meet the uncle saying when she would go to visit Mitzi was just going on about how she's going to be this great musician and as far as the uncle was concerned he felt that she was capable of becoming a concert musician. She could have played. You name it she could have played there. So there is this seeming loss of... Potential or life that could have been lived. Yeah, and so she has those regrets. There was this distance in their marriage because she felt unfulfilled. Yeah, it was devastating for me because he was clearly in love with her. With every scene it seemed like he really did love her. But he was oblivious to her unhappiness though. Look at that when he kisses her and she's not into it and then he picks her up and then she is so dead inside while he's just smiling. Oh my God, you're so right. You know, you're so right. I remember. Yeah, no, she was. There were a lot of times that he refused to take a hand. It makes it so that nobody was the victim in the end, I would say. They both definitely did not tangle well. Honestly, and I feel like that's where Sammy is like you have no clue what's going on. You're so focused on your life and you're not seeing the reality. I got a better job so we move. You don't even care where you are. You get to go to work and that could be in Iceland. You're working with your goddamn machines and you get to be happy while the rest of us are miserable. What's wrong with you? You're bleeding on the carpet. It's a rental house. Do you even notice how much we hate it here? A lot of times kids can end up being mature for their age because they kind of have to pick up the slack. It's not because they were blessed. The universe blessed them with this child who just kind of came out like a Swiss army knife and oh my God, we barely had to lift a finger raising this child. I cannot even believe this woman. But he immediately feels like the need to protect her even after he's so upset with her. Of course, he's been raised by wolves. Someone has to be a parent. She doesn't comfort him enough. She really doesn't the whole time. Not even talking about it's not about you. I recognize the harm I'm causing. I recognize that it must have been devastating for you, my child. To have seen your mother canoodling with a man that wasn't papa. A lot of times when kids are like Sam it's because parents are dropping the ball all the time. I don't know the details of Benny and the husband but I just kind of felt like if Benny was indeed a friend this man welcomed him into his home. Loved him like a brother. The kids called him Uncle Benny. Two people that you love are hurting you. Neither of them can actually be an adult enough or a good enough person enough to talk to him about it. That was devastating for me to watch something like that. When you're in love with someone like the husband is and when you have your best friend who you say is your best friend doing that I think it can be really hard to get yourself out of that situation. And then on top of that you have kids. Your entire life, the love of your life. It's really hard I think. All three of these people really were not making rational decisions I think. There's this conception of family that he's so respectful of being supportive of your kid. Okay your kid is interested in making movies. We're gonna get you a camera. We're gonna do all of these things for you. He'd be there rooting for the kid, watching the movies, helping him make the movies. Absolutely supportive of this passion that Sammy has. But then at the same time talks about it. Oh it's just a hobby. I'm talking about you looking for work, looking for opportunities, things that are real things. I want to make movies though. I mean something real. Not imaginary. Something someone can actually use. In some ways it might be even more frustrating than a parent that just from the get-go doesn't support your passion because it's like to a degree he wants to help him out and then once he's doing it he's like, that doesn't actually take it seriously. And he's like, yeah that's great, no. But like I'm hoping that you'll change your mind to grow out of that phase. You could afford to be a little encouraged. About what? Well I didn't say that. Maybe he's moved on. From what? He hasn't picked up his camera once since we got here. He'll be going to college this September. Maybe his feelings about it have changed. He's growing up. I'm enthusiastic about that. This mix of where the mother who is kind of too carefree and too about what makes her happy alone, she is the one that you know tells him at the end. Sammy, you do what your heart says you have to. You don't know. Which is probably the little bit of good advice she does give but then it's also kind of like well yeah but you also take it to an extreme. And then there's the dad that they kind of both, both parents kind of word extremes in their own way. One was too much kind of you could say by the book or like traditionally you just get a good job and you keep following where the money is and you keep going for the promotions and you move wherever you have to. No matter how much disruption that causes. And then the mom is like we follow your heart no matter how much disruption that causes. So they're both kind of following these things and not an ignoring the damages being caused. I think you have something to say to me Sammy. And if I'm right about that then get it off your chest and say it to my face. I'm sorry. It kind of felt like the dad was saying Sammy just bring it out, bring up this thing that I don't have the guts to bring. And then the mother starts singing oh hey I started therapy. And I'm like wow. Again, who is the parent here? Yeah, exactly. And then the son is caught in the middle of the two parents. I thought that was so unfair. Yeah. How much you loved using it for your war picture so I figured you ought to have one of your own. It's some bon voyage, see you later alligator. I believe in you, president, from your uncle Betty. Does it for me? Also Betty. None of the adults were adults there. You know and he's trying to like chum up at the end gives them like it's kind of like I know I really broke up your family but here's a camera. I was like are we supposed to be to feel endeared? I don't think so. I mean at times I think. Are we supposed to be endeared to Benny because he is the true love? I don't think so. I didn't take it. I mean he's funny because and the point is that he's funny and that's why she has a better rapport with him. Yeah. He's the one that's kind of more fun to be around. The dad is not really as, doesn't have the social skills. You think whatever bad things you want about me can't help but you stop making movies. It'll break your mother's heart. You will break her heart, I mean it. She doesn't deserve that, not from anybody, at least of all from you. If you stop making movies, you're gonna hurt your mom. Putting so much guilt and so much weight on this kid. That is so crazy. All the adults were manipulating the kid. They were manipulating that poor kid. And then you make this kid feel responsible for the parents' feelings. Kids are not responsible for the parents' feelings. It's the other way around. You're supposed to be the security blanket, not the kids. The uncle talks about art and loneliness and art will leave you lonely. Right? Is that what you say? Yeah, it's like... Insert here. Yeah. I'll give you crowns and heaven and laurels on earth. It'll tear your heart out and leave you lonely. You'll be a shanda for your loved ones and exile in the desert at Chipsi. The thing about that, right, I can totally understand. I can identify with what the uncle is saying, except that I don't think it's limit. I don't think it's art. I think it's like passion. What? Your purpose, the life you're trying. Your purpose, yeah. Whatever it is that fuels your fire. Yeah. It does not have to be art. No. Because sometimes when you're in a family, there's just something about you that's just very distinct. And sometimes your family is quite happy to keep trudging along with the two. And then you're just kind of like, I feel like I just want to create a new tune. And that doesn't have to be art. It could be maybe everybody in the family are bread makers. And you just felt like, I just feel like... Yeah. I want to... I want to make Nat. I want to make Nat. Exactly. Exactly. And so I don't think it's necessarily just art. I think it's just sometimes it just happens. And what he says about the loneliness, I felt it. I felt what he meant. Even if it's not art. As long as you are different from your family and you want to be true to that difference. That's what he's saying. It's like basically following and like being your true self. Not ignoring that part of you. That authentic part that doesn't care if it's different or it's going to be hard. It confuses everyone else that knows you. Why are you doing this? Don't do that. But you just can't help but follow it. Yeah. And when you do listen to that authentic part of you. It is a very lonely place. When you think about Sam's dad him trying to get Sammy to go into engineering like him. There's this... Family likes the comfort of familiarity, similarity. If my dad is an engineer then me being an engineer that's going to be great because we're going to have stuff to talk about. Between us. And that's a safe. It's comforting. Family is often quite scared of differences. If your son is all of a sudden going and you know I'm going to be like I don't know... Tightrope walker. Yeah, maybe a tightrope walker dad. What is that? I can't relate to this thing. What are we going to do? Are we going to talk? Now we're not going to be... Are we going to be close anymore? That's where it really does get lonely. If you are threatening to break out of the norm that is your family you don't have a support system because nobody wants you to break out of norms. They're quite comfortable with how things are. That's the lonely place. You have to do it all alone. You have to fight like crazy for it. Sometimes you end up doing things like well I'm going to go to school you know because like my parents want to do this and it will make them happy but you're just... It's awful. It feels like you're just going against every single pore inside your body and it itches every single day. I'm not living my life. Yeah. You know that conversation he has, time he has with the dad. I don't want to disappoint you and I promise that I'd stick it out but two years is like forever and I hate school. Like a lot. And I want to get work on a movie or a TV show so I send out all those letters but nobody ever writes back and my life is just going by so fast but it's not getting anywhere. My life is just going by and nothing's happening. Exactly. And your family doesn't understand this thing and so that is the lonely place to be. Oh beautiful what you made, darling. You really saved me. When they finally do show the film of the mom and of course he edits out all the edit parts so just you know makes her look really good and does all this and then of course she's happy for a bit but he doesn't feel anything. It just makes him resentful because he's like oh that's great that you're all happy but like first of all I know the stuff that I saw you refuse to talk to me about to be apparent to me about. The worst thing it was the film that the dad guilted him into doing. Yeah. You have to do it don't be selfish your mom's mom just died and then on top of that he has to cut clips out of the mom having an affair with Uncle Benny and then you have to watch the stuff over and over again it's traumatizing. You get the family you get that kind of family wow the fact that he managed to sustain his passion with all of that stuff happening that says so much to me. Maybe part of it had to be just to survive that maybe like when the sister's like I don't understand how you can go back to your beach blanket movie after that. We're different I guess. Maybe that's his way of coping. Yeah. You know who knows maybe we became an addiction for a little bit right. Yeah he's like the uncle says we're junkies for art. We're junkies. Art is our drug. Family we love. But art we have a sugar for art. Why do people become junkies? You're fixing an imbalance so maybe his filmmaking became that for a while. Lucky him that filmmaking was his drug because there's also cocaine. That's true. Hard to make films all on cocaine. Exactly and that's that's a tough time. Okay. Yes. But there's still wounds there. Yeah. You can't grow up in a family like that and not have things that you still need to get over. Yeah. The things that must have stuck with them like I have a feeling that one part did definitely happen where the guy's like you tell anybody about me getting upset. That would be a mistake. Our secret. Unless I make a movie about it which I'm never ever going to do. Yeah. He does. But yeah. Just don't show your kids a scary movie because it'll turn them into directors. That make the world very happy. Yeah. One moment. Huh? Scary movie is a 2000 American Sl�ster directed by Keen and Ivory Wayne. That's what that was. It's serious. I had no answer. Shh. Don't go into some food burn and Aaron Seltzer would you like to hear more? No thank you. Anyway. That's some stuff that we thought of about the fablemen's. What would you guys think? Have you seen it? Let us know. Comments down below. Share your thoughts and our thoughts. Until next time. Thanks for watching. That's a wrap.