It doesn’t take long to recognizeThe Fabelmansas an autobiographical film about directorSteven Spielberg’s upbringing.
What Happens in David Lynch’s ‘The Fabelmans’ Scene?
It then becomes obvious that he is waiting to meet with legendary directorJohn Ford.
He’s cranky and strange,in a role that he apparently didn’t even want to play.
Ford’s work sets Sammy on his own ambitious filmmaking journey, thus driving the movie’s entire plot.
Hence, this encounter with Ford in the third act signals a sort of achievement for Sammy.
Image via Universal Pictures
It also confirms that at the end of the story, Sammy will continue pursuing film.
He started his career in the silent era and worked up through the late sixties.
One could argue that Spielberg’s work has done the same in the century’s second half.
Image via Universal Pictures
Lastly, the scene also has immense charm,mostly thanks to Lynch’s hilarious performance.
Given that Ford was also an eccentric personality in Hollywood, it fits.
Ford’s films are known for their straightforwardness, relying on archetypes and conventions to send a clear message.
The Fabelmans is a film loosely based on the life of a young Steven Spielberg, with Gabriel Labelle playing the role of 16-year-old aspiring filmmaker Sammy Fabelman. Fictionalizing but treading essential moments in the director’s life, The Fabelmans is set in the 1960s with the titular family moving from New Jersey to California, where a dark secret begins to cause the life of young Sammy to unravel. To escape the reality he’s faced with, he turns to films and reinforces a new dream - the aspiration of becoming a filmmaker. The film allows the director and the audience to look back on the past and try to understand the motivations of family members' various actions by contextualizing them through the lens of film.
