CITIZEN KANE
dir: Orson Welles
"You know, Mr. Bernstein, if hadn't been very rich, I might have been a really great man." - Charles Foster Kane
Brief Synopsis
Millionaire publisher and failed politician Charles Kane dies uttering a mysterious last word, a reporter embarks on a mission to discover the origins of it while also delving into the life and death of Charles Kane.
Why It's Here
Citizen Kane is a film that needs no introduction. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge about film should know enough about Kane that they could give you a brief summary or note it's influence without even seeing it. There have been countless discussions, books, lectures dedicated to Kane and it's marveling cinematic techniques that forever immortalize it in the history of cinema. Instead, I look at Kane from a perspective of a contemporary viewer looking back nearly seventy years later, with the mystery already solved and the film's newspaper focus now known as an industry on life support. There is a world of difference between Welles' 1941 epic and today, but the themes largely carry over and the film plays heavily on the tired and true message that money corrupts all. Kane succeeds because Welles is a talent who is equally gifted in his technical skill-set as his storytelling.
The film is essentially a large jigsaw puzzle, which happens to be a fairly obvious symbol reoccurring late in the film. The entire concept revolves around the late Charles Foster Kane's mysterious last words: "Rosebud". Who or what is Rosebud? The famous mystery has since entered popular culture as a fairly well known convention of the twist ending, so many viewers today know exactly who or what Rosebud is. However, it's not a one-note film and the unraveling plot that largely shifts focus away from the word and towards the life and death of this man plays on several different themes. Cleverly crafted, the film gives us all of the pieces of Kane's life in the first ten minutes except for Rosebud, we know the outcome of every event and the film's hook becomes how that conclusion came to be and their connection to this word. The reporter trying to find the origin of the word concludes that he can't find it, it's just a "missing piece" and holds no significance. When asked what he learned about the life of Kane, he replies with "not much". Despite a life of glamour, wealth, and fame there is little to be said for Kane. He is just another man who falls to the same temptations of any man. We as an audience see more than what this reporter hears, and while we don't know who or what Rosebud is physically, it's easy to establish at Kane's deathbed that Rosebud is his soul. Whatever form his soul takes on physically is a mystery, but it's clear that this is a man who sold his soul for wealth and fame, or rather in hindsight, his soul was stolen from him by the rich and wealthy.
Welles who has since been known for his cynical cinematic themes portrays some of his strongest throughout Citizen Kane. Particularly the theme of the illusion of truth which is something he carried with him all the way until his final film, F for Fake. We see Kane's second wife desire to be a singer, but we glimpse behind the glamour into her brutal rehearsals, and the chaotic preparation before a scene. Suddenly the fantasy hits reality with harsh force and her plans change. Kane buys her into fame despite the public's disdain for her. This is an element of particular interest and relevance today as celebrities pop up at disappointing rates not because of talent, but because they have wealth, or have no self-respect; those two features often go hand-in-hand. Not that these type of celebrities are anything new, but Kane offers a glimpse at the history of the loved and loathed socialite.
Early in his career, Kane makes a promise to report the news truthfully and the act in the interest of the people, naturally as his life progresses his youthful optimism and naive belief in the world break apart and we quickly see him proclaim that people will believe what he tells them to believe. As the man trusted to inform the public, his power sways him towards bias and blackmail. Not an evil man, Charles Kane is simply one facing the ugly side of fame which naturally involve politicians, businessmen, and all the evil that Welles sees in the world that want to pick apart a man bigger than themselves on piece at a time. Kane simply knows no other life, his wife complains he only buys her things rather than giving her, something that confuses and frustrates Kane. This is why he wishes to return to his faithful sled and small home of his childhood where his innocence was uncorrupted by money and politics.
Welles' sets were defining in their day, many of them beautifully designed, framed, lit, and shot making for scenes that look as pure and clean as photographs or paintings and long single-takes that rival those of contemporary cinema. Many interior sets have walls that rise out of frame, as if roofless. This is usually in scenes involving discussion of Kane's past (such as the initial memoirs of Kane's guardian) making it seem as though Kane's presence exists in these rooms. There is lots to tell about this behemoth of a man, and the sets simply represent the inability to contain it all. In flashback sequences, Kane's campaign poster reaches on forever. While in his monstrous estate, Xanadu, his rooms appear endless and fireplaces are the size of small dining rooms. The sets are elegant, but hardly realistic, creating the sensation of theatre and the thematic size of Kane himself. Yes, I am aware that sets often didn't have roofs during this periods, but for Kane it works at a thematic level too.
With a heavy emphasis on the power behind the newspaper business, it makes Citizen Kane an especially unique film to watch now as this industry has collapsed to it's most feeble form. Soon this film will be further dated by this soon-to-be defunct industry but still holds true to the power of those with information. The film is a reflection, despite the death-kneel of the newspaper industry and the rise of blogs and web 2.0, the technology may have progressed, but really nothing has changed.
08/16/09
The film is essentially a large jigsaw puzzle, which happens to be a fairly obvious symbol reoccurring late in the film. The entire concept revolves around the late Charles Foster Kane's mysterious last words: "Rosebud". Who or what is Rosebud? The famous mystery has since entered popular culture as a fairly well known convention of the twist ending, so many viewers today know exactly who or what Rosebud is. However, it's not a one-note film and the unraveling plot that largely shifts focus away from the word and towards the life and death of this man plays on several different themes. Cleverly crafted, the film gives us all of the pieces of Kane's life in the first ten minutes except for Rosebud, we know the outcome of every event and the film's hook becomes how that conclusion came to be and their connection to this word. The reporter trying to find the origin of the word concludes that he can't find it, it's just a "missing piece" and holds no significance. When asked what he learned about the life of Kane, he replies with "not much". Despite a life of glamour, wealth, and fame there is little to be said for Kane. He is just another man who falls to the same temptations of any man. We as an audience see more than what this reporter hears, and while we don't know who or what Rosebud is physically, it's easy to establish at Kane's deathbed that Rosebud is his soul. Whatever form his soul takes on physically is a mystery, but it's clear that this is a man who sold his soul for wealth and fame, or rather in hindsight, his soul was stolen from him by the rich and wealthy.
Welles who has since been known for his cynical cinematic themes portrays some of his strongest throughout Citizen Kane. Particularly the theme of the illusion of truth which is something he carried with him all the way until his final film, F for Fake. We see Kane's second wife desire to be a singer, but we glimpse behind the glamour into her brutal rehearsals, and the chaotic preparation before a scene. Suddenly the fantasy hits reality with harsh force and her plans change. Kane buys her into fame despite the public's disdain for her. This is an element of particular interest and relevance today as celebrities pop up at disappointing rates not because of talent, but because they have wealth, or have no self-respect; those two features often go hand-in-hand. Not that these type of celebrities are anything new, but Kane offers a glimpse at the history of the loved and loathed socialite.
Early in his career, Kane makes a promise to report the news truthfully and the act in the interest of the people, naturally as his life progresses his youthful optimism and naive belief in the world break apart and we quickly see him proclaim that people will believe what he tells them to believe. As the man trusted to inform the public, his power sways him towards bias and blackmail. Not an evil man, Charles Kane is simply one facing the ugly side of fame which naturally involve politicians, businessmen, and all the evil that Welles sees in the world that want to pick apart a man bigger than themselves on piece at a time. Kane simply knows no other life, his wife complains he only buys her things rather than giving her, something that confuses and frustrates Kane. This is why he wishes to return to his faithful sled and small home of his childhood where his innocence was uncorrupted by money and politics.
Welles' sets were defining in their day, many of them beautifully designed, framed, lit, and shot making for scenes that look as pure and clean as photographs or paintings and long single-takes that rival those of contemporary cinema. Many interior sets have walls that rise out of frame, as if roofless. This is usually in scenes involving discussion of Kane's past (such as the initial memoirs of Kane's guardian) making it seem as though Kane's presence exists in these rooms. There is lots to tell about this behemoth of a man, and the sets simply represent the inability to contain it all. In flashback sequences, Kane's campaign poster reaches on forever. While in his monstrous estate, Xanadu, his rooms appear endless and fireplaces are the size of small dining rooms. The sets are elegant, but hardly realistic, creating the sensation of theatre and the thematic size of Kane himself. Yes, I am aware that sets often didn't have roofs during this periods, but for Kane it works at a thematic level too.
With a heavy emphasis on the power behind the newspaper business, it makes Citizen Kane an especially unique film to watch now as this industry has collapsed to it's most feeble form. Soon this film will be further dated by this soon-to-be defunct industry but still holds true to the power of those with information. The film is a reflection, despite the death-kneel of the newspaper industry and the rise of blogs and web 2.0, the technology may have progressed, but really nothing has changed.
08/16/09