This film is adapted from the third part of Steinbeck's original work "East of eden". It has basically achieved a small step success first, because the story itself has attractive conditions: the conflict between father and son, separation The entanglement between mother and child, the imbalance of brotherhood...etc.
In terms of actors, James Dean, who stood out and played the role of Carl, is like a dazzling star, shining the entire movie.
Quoting from the bible plot where Cain was mutilated by hating Abel, Yaron (Abel) and Carl (Cain) in the movie represent completely different images: the former is gentle, polite, considerate and well-behaved, and it is the father Adam quoted The proud son (my son); the latter is another son (another son) who is rude and unruly. Although Karl made a lot of efforts to please his father, hoping to get more attention from his father, he was injured in the constant rejection, which caused resentment and injustice in his heart.
Two scenes are particularly prominent, emphasizing the opposition between Adam and Carl and his son, and also paved the way for Carl's subsequent outbreak. One
scene is Adam, Aaron, and Carl sitting at a long dining table, and Adam punishing Carl to recite the Bible and repent. I think the arrangement of the positions of the three people is implied. Adam and Carl sit at one end each, which symbolizes the bad and alienated relationship between the two, while Aaron sitting in the middle is in a position of being caught in the middle and dilemma. Furthermore, the chapter that Adam asked Carl to read read "I will confess my sins to you, and will not hide my sins. I will confess my sins to the Lord, and you will forgive my sins" (Bible Psalm 32:5 Verse), one can't help but think that Cain killed Abel in anger because the Lord chose Abel's offering instead of his. In addition, Carl always believed that he would be so "bad", inherited from his mother who ran away from home, and was born with "original sin."
Another scene is known as one of the most brilliant father-son rivalry, which also echoes the allusion of Cain's refusal. . Karl took advantage of the outbreak of World War I and speculation on the price of beans to make a profit of five thousand yuan. He gave the money as a birthday gift to Adam, on the one hand to make up for the loss of his father's business failure, on the other hand, to prove that he made a difference. As a result, his brother Yaron not only preempted him to announce his betrothal to his girlfriend Abola (Carl’s crush). Adam was overjoyed and thought it was the "best" birthday gift. He even refused to accept Carl’s money, which he believed was an exploit. From the farmers.
At this point, Carl really broke down. I saw James Dean, who played Carl, tremblingly clutching the colorful banknotes, his face covered with tears, as if a wailing little beast hugged his father, and then staggered out of the door.
The reason why this scene is talked about is because of James Dean’s improvisation. The script is written that Karl, who was rejected, left in anger, but when the performance was officially performed, James Dean hugged Raymond Massey, who played his father, forward. The crying grief of the former and the stiffness and helplessness of the latter were finally presented on the big screen.
The multiple clever contrast arrangements are impressive, and I have to talk about James Dean's performance. For the first time starring in a movie, he fully interprets the fragility, aggressiveness, sensitivity, and wildness of the teenager. Although there are still some flaws in several places, the flaws are not concealed. When Karl finally found his mother Kate, he knelt down in front of her with a bewildered face and cautiously, and said softly: "I want to talk to you, let me talk to you." I think few people can refuse.
Speaking of the above scene, I think he was dragged out of Kate’s office by the security guard, and still yelled "Talk to me! mother!" without giving up. James Dean's sad expression was also tearing the audience. Heart.
Carl has always been gloomy and lonely in the whole film, even a little scared of life, with almost no smiles, so I especially like the scene where Ibola and Carl have lunch in a flower field. Carl, in suspender jeans, propped his face with his hands and listened to Abola talking about her little rebellion. When he raised a shy smile, the yellow flowers blooming all over the floor were not as dazzling as him.
Although James Dean's improvisational father-son drama is highly praised, what impresses me even more is the performance of Carl's "sound" crying out and crying in the front yard. Under the cover of dense foliage, Carl cannot be seen and comforted him. Ibola, but you can hear him crying and saying, "He doesn't want my things," and the real choking is very moving.
If the climax of the whole film is this rivalry, then Carl's (Cain) revenge takes a sharp turn, creating an atmosphere that is almost cold and absurd. Carl took Aaron to find his mother Kate maliciously. When the kind and innocent Aaron knew that her mother was not only an angel who returned to heaven, she also showed her face to open a tavern and do business outside. Carl hit Aaron as he wished. At that time, he The contempt on his face is different from the previous appearance.
Finally, it’s a pity that this film is too focused on the relationship between Adam and Carl. Aaron and Carl have no major rivalries. The sense of competition between the brothers is not very obvious. Most of them are based on Karl’s unilateralism. Suddenly, Yaron found out the truth about his mother's life and went crazy, which made me feel a little unclear. (Note)
Note: In fact, Richard Davalos (playing Yaron) and James Dean had an opponent scene that was cut off. In the scene Yaron thought that Karl would only complain and never actually did anything to express his love for his father, and the audition recorded on the DVD was also This section is included, but the presentation is different, the cut is more gentle, and the two brothers fought hard during the audition.
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