East of Eden (1955)

In 1917, in Monterey, California, Cal (James Dean) is a youngster needy of fatherly love. His father Adam Trask (Raymond Massey) is a farmer that favors his brother Aron (Richard Davalos) and they believe that their mother died when they were children. One day, Cal discovers that his mother Kate (Jo Van Fleet) is still alive and is the owner of a brothel in the nearby Salinas. However he keeps his discovery in secret and does not tell to his father and brother.When Adam decides to invest in the transportation of frozen lettuce, there is a problem on the railroad and he loses his saving. Cal contacts Kate and borrows five thousand dollars to invest in the promising bean business since the United States has entered in the World War I to recover his father's money and earn his love. Meanwhile Aron's girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) and Cal fall in love with each other. Cal is well succeeded in his business and decides to give a surprise birthday party organized by Abra to his father to give his money as a birthday gift. The reaction of Adam and Aron trigger a series of incidents with tragic consequences. "East of Eden" is a movie directed by Elia Kazan with a story slightly based on Cain and Abel, with the rivalry of two brothers since Cal is a needy young man and Aron is envious of his brother. The movie shows the treatment spent to German immigrants when the United States joined the war. The open conclusion induces to the redemption of Cal after the tragedy in his family. My vote is eight.Title (Brazil): "Vidas Amargas" ("Bitter Lives")

Based on a John Steinbeck novel, Elia Kazan's "East of Eden" stars James Dean as Cal, the son of entrepreneur Adam Trask. Cal feuds with his younger brother and father, both of whom perceive Cal to be "bad". Also deemed "bad" is Cal's mother, the owner of a local brothel.As Kazan has truncated Steinbeck's novel, each character's actions and motivations become slightly cartoonish. Adam himself is portrayed as a religious fundamentalist, so scarred by his now absent wife that he deems everything unsavoury to be a "mark of wickedness". Psychologically abused by his judgemental father, Cal embarks on an unhealthy quest to both find his mother and earn daddy's favour."East of Eden" is filled with artificial, exaggerated oppositions, trite melodrama and strained allusions to the Biblical story of Cain and Abel. On the flip-side, it's beautifully shot, boasts amazing wide-screen photography and contains a number of interesting passages. Elevating things further is Dean's performance. Dean would act in only three films before dying at the age of 24 ("Giant", "East of Eden", "Rebel Without a Cause"). In each of these films, he played sensitive, troubled young men. These characters are outsiders, idealists, confused, ashamed and filled with a burning desire to belong. More than this, their on-screen suffering seemed to echo Dean's own off-screen troubles.Dean's performance in "East of Eden" has been called "groundbreaking", but it wasn't really. Brando and Montgomery Clift were already making waves as Method Acting Mega Stars, and Paul Newman and others would soon do so as well. What Dean did well was popularise a certain turn-of-the-century teenage archetype; all adolescent ache and emotional turbulence. And as Dean was immortalised as an adolescent and never allowed to grow up, his characters only seemed more doomed. As the years went by, his three performances would accumulate almost mythological proportions. This sentimental necrophilia would blind fans to Dean's flaws – his obvious attempts to mimic Brando, his overly mopey scenery-chewing etc – but in a way is also wholly deserved. "East of Eden" boasts gorgeous colour cinematography by Ted McCord, a lush score by Leonard Rosenman, and fine performances by Julie Harris and Jo Van Fleet.7.5/10 – See "Marjorie Morningstar", "Some Came Running" and "Rebel Without a Cause".

Clearly, Dean was one of the defining actors of the youthful 1950's. Rebel without a Cause (1955) may have registered more strongly with the cool cats of the time. Nonetheless, in my little book, this is the film that represents the actor's enduring triumph. Here Cal's (Dean) yawning emotional needs are on raw display, the tics, grimaces, writhings. All are excruciatingly expressive. At times it's over the top, but few can doubt the sincerity. In fact, it appears to be the real Dean on screen, and not an actor. Then too, Dean was lucky. He got one of the best young actresses of that day or any day in Julie Harris. Her lack of glamor is a real plus. That way her rather plain looks don't get in the way of a growing emotional bond with a needy Cal (Dean). I count the beanfield and ferris wheel scenes as two of the best boy-girl on record. Catch how naturally they're drawn to each other, only to shrink away at the last moment. It's like they're fearful of some kind of forbidden attraction. Still, before emotions can straighten out, the confused Cal must straighten himself out. That means getting straight with his imperious father (Massey). Then too, Abra (Harris) needs to trust her emotions rather than lifeless convention with Aaron (Davalos). Now if Dad could just stop seeing his detested ex-wife in Cal, he might bend a little. After all, having principles is not enough. They should first be the right principles, and excluding a son because of one of them is not right. Thus, it's really Dad who needs to straighten out. Then Cal would have a chance.And who better to play the emotionally constricted patriarch than the commanding Ray Massey. His scenes with Dean represent not only a clash of personalities but also a clash of acting styles. I gather the two actors didn't much like each other, which is not surprising. Anyway, the supporting parts are also well done. I especially like the often overlooked Lois Smith as the fearful, fluttery servant girl. She's really Cal's emotional counterpart, even though in a small role. I've long sympathized with Dick Davalos in the thankless role of the prissy Aaron. That, plus being overshadowed by the most compelling young actor of the day, was surely a misfortune. As a side note, filming in the Salinas Valley was a real plus, lending a large canvas to the intense drama.Despite the sometimes sprawling screenplay, the movie remains an emotional powerhouse, thanks to Dean, Harris, and director Kazan. In fact, casting the untried Dean in the role of Cal remains one of moviedom's most memorable moments. While in terms of a meteoric body of work, the young actor checked out at about the right time.

From an entertainment basis, this move was successful, with captivating performances by all of the actors. But after reading John Steinbeck's novel, this movie hits miles below the mark he had intended. The first major flaw with the movie is the starting point, which takes place more than halfway through the book. This leaves audience members who have yet to read the book clueless to the Trask family history. Also, there is no mention of Lee in the movie. This serves to take away from the novel, since Lee was the first character to bring about the main theme of Timshell surrounding the novel. Without Lee, there is no Timshell, and without TImshell, there is no East of Eden. There are other flaws in the movie, such as the scene where Cal asks Kate for the loan, or when they only harassed the German man instead of burning down his shop. These and several other minor flaws, along with the major flaws previously mentioned, serve only to take away from the author's intended purpose of the novel. Overall, I believe that this movie did not meet the standards that John Steinbeck would have accepted in his writing of East of Eden.