Today, Steven Spielberg’s “The Fabelmans,” an autobiographical film from him written with Tony Kushner, is released in limited run. In two weeks it will go wide. It could not be more pertinent or important right now.

With all the talk on antisemitism sweeping the country– something we didn’t think we’d ever in a modern world– “The Fabelmans” hits home. It’s at once a ‘fable’ about Spielberg becoming a movie maker, and also the story of a family divided even in love. And they are a Jewish family, depicted on screen rarely. Here it’s so pressing that The Fabelmans light Chanukah candles and talk about their religion. For Jewish audiences who have watched countless Christmas films, seeing “The Fabelmans” is like taking a warm bath.

Of course, the movie is more than just that. Spielberg and Kushner have made one of those rare films that is an instant classic, a “real” movie, the only one I’ve seen this year. “The Fabelmans” hearkens back to classic films like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Best Years of Our Lives,” peeling back the stories of members of this family at its own pace, then drawing them all together.

Michelle Williams leads the cast as Mrs. Fabelman, a stand in for Spielberg’s late real life mother. I was lucky enough to know Mrs. Spielberg just slightly because of her L.A. kosher restaurant. It’s remarkable how Williams has transformed herself into this small but vibrant person. Williams is absolutely the lead actress of the year, making her Mitzi vulnerable, smart, and no one’s victim. She’s ahead of her time.

All the other actors in this movie deserve call outs including Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett, and most especially Gabriel LaBelle, 19, who will win all the awards this season for younger actor. He’s remarkable. And then there’s Judd Hirsch, who is now somehow 87, and beloved for decades. His one short turn as Mitzi’s uncle — explaining what an artist is to young Sammy — is stunning. Hirsch was nominated for an Oscar in 1981 for “Ordinary People,” went on to fame in TV in “Taxi” and other shows, has two Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Play, and now his time has come. Bravo!

Don’t miss this movie It’s not playing on Netflix. Get in the car, and go. You will not be disappointed.

Let’s face it, “Black Panther” was a cultural phenomenon. It made over $700 million in the US, and Chadwick Boseman was nominated for an Oscar. It was a significant film.

If Boseman had lived, who knows what a sequel would have been like? He really projected heroism and nobility. He was the center of “Black Panther,” you couldn’t take your eyes off of him.

Unfortunately, “Wakanda Forever” is a movie with a hole at its center. Boseman’s T’Challa is gone, and the movie doesn’t know how to get around that problem. T’Challa didn’t have a brother or son to replace or succeed him. The original film was already heavily stacked with powerful females, and they are all back. But without Boseman, there’s no movie star, no leader.

Disney has pumped up the Marvel fan base like crazy. But I think they, like the regular audience I saw “WF” with this afternoon, will be disappointed. The opening act is all about losing and mourning T’Challa, which director Ryan Coogler milks for everything he’s got. They’ve even turned the opening Marvel logo sequence into its own memorial momtage. And then there’s the majestic funeral. The only thing they’re missing is lox and bagels at the shivah.

Then, however, you have to have a movie — and they don’t. The world is mad at Wakanda for not sharing its vibranium, the magic material in the water under the powerful island country. Even the UN is mad the Wakandans won’t share it with them. (There’s a UN in the Marvel universe? For what purpose?) Eventually enemies arrive to try and dig the stuff up. Tenoch Huerta plays Namor, the leader of the pack, dressed as a gladiator from a 1950s epic. He is no Thanos (Josh Brolin) the really upsetting villain from the Avengers movies. Forget the hype. Namor is silly. There’s never a suggestion he’s going to win.

You could call this movie “The Woman King,” but that title obviously is unavailable. But with T’Challa gone, he’s briefly succeeded by his mother, the always sensational Angela Bassett. Bassett is a STAR. Unfortunately, her Queen Ramonda exits the movie at the halfway point. Letitia Wright’s Shuri becomes the Black Panther, but does not fill the void. The two remaining women — Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira — are top notch but they also are written as supporting players. (Also, once Ramonda has left, Shuri doesn’t seem to miss her much.)

Well, nature abhors a vacuum. And that’s what the second act is, even with cameo appearances by Julia Louis Dreyfus and Martin Freeman as rogue CIA agents. Winston Duke as M’Baku flits in and out but isn’t much of a presence. So when this two hour forty one minute extravaganza rolls to a somber ending, the audience just sits there hoping for something to chew on. Eventually they get it: a post credits Marvel when the gorgeous Nakia (the very underused Nyong’o) reveals she had a child with T’Challa who she’s been hiding in Haiti. He will be the Black Panther of the third and final movie. Yes, the audience applauded.

Except a huge first weekend at the box office. But what comes next, I can’t say. Other than a cameo from Michael B. Jordan as Eric Killmonger, the deceased villain of “Black Panther,” there’s not a lot of big moments here. There’s also almost no mention of T’Challa’s Marvel buddies except for a passing reference to the Hulk. This just adds to the feeling of being lost. But this happens with middle movies of trilogies. In two or three years the big finale should be more upbeat.

PS This movie is not going to be a Best Picture nominee. The special-ness of “Black Panther” is just not here.