A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)

 Elia Kazan's "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn"


The 1945 film "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" is most notable, to me, as the directorial film debut of famed director Elia Kazan. Beyond this, it is a relatively benign coming-of-age story with a lot of heart. That isn't to say I didn't like the film. In fact, it is one of the more tonally engaging Hollywood films from this era. 

The film centers on a young girl who lives with her poor family in Brooklyn. Through various economic downfalls, an alcoholic father, domestic tension, and other personal tragedies, the bright young girl tries to hold on to hope amidst all the hardship her and her family faces.

The film reminded me of something akin to the tone of Frank Capra's "It's a Wonderful Life" the following year. In the post-war landscape, the globe was traumatized by war and individuals were facing personal hardships. Films like "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" seemed to acknowledge these personal challenges through the personal challenges of a fictional character. In this case, it was a young girl trying to grow up in a challenging environment. While acknowledging these hardships, these kinds of films also encourage us to cling to hope regardless and to appreciate the people around us who support and love us. 

Overall, I found "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" to be an adequate film, nothing more or less. It felt somewhat of an Oscar-bait type film for the time period, despite its many good qualities. It is definitely not a film I would ever revisit, but I'm also glad I caught it the one time.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rio Bravo (1959)

Image
  Howard Hawks' "Rio Bravo" To conclude the filmography of Howard Hawks, I watched his 1959 western film " Rio Bravo ." I've got to say that I was expecting a lot more out of this picture based on all the praise for the film. That is not to say that I didn't like it, it was a fine time at the cinema (I was not at the cinema, I was at home). I can't say that I should have expected more, as I'm not entirely that big of a fan of Howard Hawks. Even his best film (to me), " The Big Sleep " is arguably one of the weaker film noirs that I've seen. " Rio Bravo " is a film that apparently is a response to 1952's " High Noon ," which was an allegory about Hollywood's blacklisting and McCarthyism. Howard Hawks and John Wayne felt the film was anti-American and instead made " Rio Bravo " to broadcast an alternative perspective in which the hero of the story doesn't shy away from justice. I personally ha...
Read more

King Kong (1933)

Image
  Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack's "King Kong" There are many post-Depression American 'box office' films that I have seen in my film studies journey. Most of these post-Depression box office films don't typically sit right with me. The films I have in mind are the gangster and monster films that swept the nation in the early 1930s. These films typically were meant to placate an anxious American audience. However, the depth to their thematic intricacies leave something to be desired. Even without this depth, the 'entertainment' aspect of these films were not very entertaining to me. However, there is one film that utterly surprised me, 1933's adventure epic " King Kong ."   The story is well-known. A group of filmmakers travel to a remote island to take advantage of strange and interesting natural wildlife unknown to the outside world. There they meet an indigenous people, all terrified of a large, monstrous primate living on...
Read more

The Big Sleep (1946)

Image
  Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep" After watching Howard Hawks' 1946 film noir " The Big Sleep ," I have to say that it is not one of my favorite film noirs. That being said, it was definitely the best Howard Hawks film I've seen thus far. It did not have the typical dark ending that permeates the whole film with bleak darkness, which probably made it a lesser noir for me. In fact, it felt more like a 'studio noir,' if that makes sense. I'm not going to go into the entire plot of the film, especially because the entire plot is incredibly convoluted. In fact, this was a major strike against the film at the time of its release. Many reported that they could not keep up with what was happening. I've got to say that, for myself, this was the case as well. I found myself having to rewind to figure out what exactly I missed or who was who. However, upon reflection, the convoluted plot may only add to the feverish intoxication of the film.  Because...
Read more