The Fable Men's is Steven Spielberg's semi-autobiographical and deeply personal film about a

Jewish American boy who dreams of making movies.

By garring up, he learns to tell stories through his 8-millimeter camera and life-awaiting

events within his family's household significantly affect how he views the world.

Michelle Williams and Paul Dano play Sammy's loving but slowly unraveling parents.

The film is also an ode to the power of movies and the truths they can reveal.

I'm Linda Holmes and I'm Aisha Harris and today we're talking about the Fable Men's

on Pop Culture Happy Hour from NPR.

Joining me in Linda today is Weekend Edition producer Danny Hensel.

Welcome back, Danny.

And also with us is NPR Film Critic Bob Mandello.

It's great to have you back, Bob.

It's so good to be here.

Well, the Fable Men's is set in the 50s and 60s and it tells the story of Sammy.

He's played as a teenager by Gabriel Lebel.

While Dano plays his dad Bert, a successful engineer, and Michelle Williams plays his

mom Mitzi, a skilled artist whose ambitions in becoming a renowned concert pianist never

quite panned out.

Now after Sammy's parents taken to see his first movie, his passion for cinematic storytelling

is ignited.

He spends much of his time enlisting them, his three sisters and his friends in his creation

of these elaborate DIY films that are shot on an 8-millimeter camera.

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