MARCH 2023 CROSSWORD

1 Model, endlessly long, book (7)

9 Undo nine in a mess, or sixty-nine? (8)

10 Relax large bodies without flatulence (7) 11 American shade over upset state (8)

12 Motley cloth label (6)

13 Yells about revolution thoroughly (10)

15 Picked up gents stuck behind end of walking stick (4)

16 Birth? Charlie, king, does up jewellery (9)

21 Colour of soft pen fluid (4)

22 Levy one director to stream film (4,6)

24 American bet (6)

25 Disaster cryptic clue for ‘rife’ (8)

27 Keep a French treasure (7)

28 Reserved lease accommodates sweetheart and jerk (8)

29 Row about, er, Rex, dog (7) answers the highs and lows of growing up and discovering who you want to be.

For me, the key to “The Fabelmans” lies in how it treats filmmaking as an art, and I say this with full cognizance of how pretentious this sounds. From the beginning, it’s obvious Sammy sees film differently to his peers, scraping together money to buy film stock and (unfortunately) being the only person in his Boy Scout troop who behaves appropriately at the cinema. Spielberg’s awareness of his humble beginnings prevents Sammy from being obnoxious; he’s just a kid trying his best to do what he loves. Making a movie with your friends, one camera, and no budget never looked as glamorous as it does here.

His improvised editing techniques and special effects on set are endlessly entertaining, and we wonder at his ingenuity under pressure. Despite his father’s insistence that he get a “real job”, he steadfastly insists that it’s “not just a hobby”, words which will be familiar to any budding filmmaker. Films become a heightened version of reality; the camera sees everything that the human eye does not. And inevitably, this leads into the crux of the film, when Sammy discovers a secret that will tear his family apart forever.

It’s no secret that his parents’ divorce had a huge impact on Spielberg’s life. He captures childhood pain through analogue, blending his love for filmmaking with grief over his family’s separation.

Although it was initially marketed as his “love letter to cinema” (one letter among many in recent years), it seems more apt to view it as a love letter to his parents. No blame is ever assigned to either Burt or Mitzi for their divorce, and for that matter, no one else is truly villainous.

Even Sammy’s high school bullies who levy anti-Semitic abuse at him are empathetically portrayed, his camera bringing a fresh perspective to otherwise two-dimensional characters. The nuances of teenage politics are not lost on Spielberg; scenes set in classrooms and corridors play out like classic coming-of-age films, all the way down to the ending. (Apart from a spectacular David Lynch cameo, although that does raise the question of whether coming-of-age films would benefit from more David Lynch cameos.)

After thirty-three feature films and almost fifty years spent working in Hollywood, it’s a marvel Spielberg has remained as consistent as he is. Don’t mistake “The Fabelmans” for being a by-the-numbers biopic: while admittedly a tad saccharine, it offers us an intriguing look into what made him one of the greatest film directors in the history of filmmaking and reminds us never to forget where we came from.

Image courtesy of Universal Studios and Amblin Entertainment

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2 SALT FOUND IN LONG SUMMIT (8)

3 PRIME THEIR NET AT SEA (8)

4 PARENTS WITH PETROL VEHICLE ON ISLAND (10)

5 THE LATEST POPULAR FOREIGN OFFICE (4)

6 STUDENTS’ PARTY KICK-STARTED UNIVERSITY PUZZLE (6)

7 SECRETIVE TRAINER? (7)

8 FOR EXAMPLE, GLIMPSE ELY? (7)

11 LAID-BACK LIEUTENANT WITH WINE LOOKS OVER HALF OF AVIEMORE: THAT’S LIFE! (4,2,3)

14 LOCA RHYMES WITH LOCA? TRAGIC! (10)

17 SINGLETON GOES ROUND TERMINALS OF AIRPORT WHILE BITTER (8)

18 WORKER, NURSE, BY NEW HOSPITAL AERIALS (8)

19 FLIGHT ATTENDANT, AT OUTSET, WITH GUN, DIED (7)

20 OX … ATOLL CONFUSED AMPHIBIAN (7)

23 RUIN RETRO COFFEESHOP TAKEN IN BY DUKE AND EARL (6)

26 CALL CARTEL (4)