East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955)I was maybe 14 or 15 when I saw East of Eden, the 1955 film based on John Steinbeck's novel. It uses an important moment in American history, the first world war, as the backdrop to a tale about two warring brothers, drawing on the story of Cain and Abel. Though I've since seen films that were much better, this was the most intense cinema experience that I've ever had.I had a rash so I wanted to hide in the cinema to avoid being seen for a while by a boy I was in love with, my first love. Hiding from him, I went with a friend to the biggest cinema we had in Denmark. We saw ...