date watched: May 26, 2009
location: at home. private copy.
Personally, I like Kazan's cooperation with James Dean a lot more than I did Kazan and Brando. This may have something to do with Dean's looks. It's really too bad he died so early. I don't know how greatly admired he'd be if he were still alive, however. That sounds cold and cruel, but there's a saying in Korean that roughly translates to "leave when they're clapping." I am a firm believer of this statement. It really is the hardest to do, though. Most of us just want to make more and more, do more and more when the going is good.
In any case, then and even now, we still love the Cain and Abel story. The drama that ensues from brotherly conflict never gets old. This film also has a lot to do with hereditary resemblances, too. It is clear that Cal (short for "Caleb," played by James Dean) is not like his father or his older brother ("Aron," played by Richard Davalos). The only member left to resemble is the mother, but she is not present, so the similarities remain unconfirmed. There is also Abra (played by Julie Harris), who understands Cal better than his family members, because she went through a rough patch herself.
It becomes difficult for us to determine whether the Aron and Mr. Trask are really "pure"; it is this idealism that drives Cal to his jealous rage and inexplicable tantrums. It is so important for Adam Trask to upkeep the purity, that he forgets how to love himself, and as a result, he also forgets how to love others. The tables turn, however, and it is Aron who is portrayed as weak, and turns to the war (the very war he condemned) as a means of escape. This momentary lapse of sanity on Aron's part will then restore family balance, as Cal can make up for lost time, and patch the family together, with Abra's help. Abra is a strange name, and to me, it seems like a tie to the magical phrase, "Abra Cadabra." She is thus the magic touch that slaps Cal back into shape, and the nursing hands to Mr. Trask.
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