Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret. He discovers how the power of films can help him see the truth.

In this lustrous self-portrait from the legendary Steven Spielberg, the child is the father of the artist. Training a revisionist’s eye on the director’s medium-shaping nostalgia, this late-life magnum opus is a loving tribute to the movies—one inescapably haunted by their dazzling siren call.