Citizen Kane

American Film. Please be advised there are many spoilers in this analysis. If you have not seen the film, do not read this yet.

Analysis of “Citizen Kane”, Co-Written by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Orson Welles, was also Directed and Produced by Orson Welles. Though this movie was released May 1, 1941, over 81 years ago, it continues to be cited by multiple sources as “the greatest movie ever made”. I needed to see this film for myself with a critical eye instead of judging it just because it is old and in black and white. Alone in my room, I began to watch this film on my small cellphone screen and thought to myself, “There is no way I will connect to this.” I am so glad I watched this film. Our Protagonists are Kane, Mr. Bernstein who is Kane’s publicist and friend, Jedediah, Kane’s friend from school, and Susan Alexander who was a singer.

Just as the scene opens to a dark and seemingly cold night, we see a NO TRESPASSING sign connected to a gate. The opening music is very dreary and the way the camera pans up for a long while makes me assume the gate is tall. This gives me a feeling as if I am not allowed. The camera along with suspenseful imagery as we see a palace in the background already has me intrigued.

Right after we see our protagonist, Charles Kane, A wealthy man, die after speaking the word “Rosebud”. The close-up of Kane’s mouth as he said his final word made me feel as if I were in the room with him. He died in one of the many rooms of Xanadu. Xanadu was built on a private mountain. It had a collection of everything including a large zoo made up of two of every animal. It was a monument that Kane built for himself. It was also where his funeral was held. The palace was still unfinished at the time of Kane’s death according to the newsreel.

Kane grew up in low society. Kane’s mother was given a mine by a man for room and board. She put the money into a trust that Kane would receive at the age of 25. Kane’s mother gave a banker custody of her then 8 years old son so that he would be educated. When Kane was given his fortune, he wasn’t interested in most items offered but was intrigued and decided to take control of the New York Inquirer. He thought it would be fun to run a newspaper. Kane even pushed Mr. Carter, the man who ran the paper, out of his office. He planned to live in the office at the inquirer. When asked why he would be there 24 hours a day when they were a morning paper, Kane responds by saying that there is news 24 hours a day.

Through the use the newspaper he gains prominence. He changes the paper from being something small with stories that don’t matter into headlines with issues that do. He made a promise to tell all the daily news honestly. He began to stick up for the little guy. He informed them of their rights as citizens. He refuses to let rich people take advantage of the poor and hardworking folk. He knew that no one else was looking out for their interest so he had to. He ran the paper with his good friend from college, Jedediah Leland. Jedediah had a dream to be a dramatic critic as was given the opportunity to by joining Kane at the paper. Jedediah was so impressed by Kane’s promises that he asked to keep the handwritten draft as he felt it was as important as the declaration of independence. He wanted to hold on to it as he held on to his first report card. It was more than just a piece of paper to him. It was a piece of history in the making. In one of the scenes, where Kane grows his publication and they are celebrating, Kane states his paper will declare war with Spain. He was speaking about the Spanish-American war of 1898, which ended less than seven months after it began. Everyone called the war Kane’s war.

In 1916 Kane ran for the role of Governor but before he could even be elected his career as a politician was muddied by a scandal. Headlines read of an affair with singer Susan Alexander. Mr. Gettys, his counterpart tried to blackmail Kane by telling him he didn’t have a choice but to withdraw his candidacy or he would report the “affair” to the rest of the papers. And that he should take a year off to “hide”. Mr. Gettys says that Kane’s wife’s reputation as well as Susan’s would be dragged through the mud along with his. The affair is untrue, but the facts given to the media make it believable. Kane refuses to let anyone bully him out. He felt he had no choice but to continue fighting for what he believed in. He believed in fighting for the people, even if that meant his name would be tarnished in the papers. Emily left him when he refused to give up the election. After Emily divorced Kane, he married Susan.

When Kane continued to fight for his position the scandal had been made public and Kane lost the election. His one-time good friend Jedediah Leland, in a drunk, fought with him. He then asked to be transferred to another paper in Chicago. This ended their friendship. This reminded me of the scandals in today’s politics. I am reminded of recent political candidates caught in similar public lashings, telling of what is done behind closed doors and what morals are expected by someone elected to office. Many men have lost relationships and friendships over rumors that are untrue being publicized to muddy someone’s image. I could feel the anger felt by Kane after the relationship with Emily dissolved. I wouldn’t want to be with someone who wanted me to bow down because I’m being threatened.

Years later when Kane visits his Chicago office, he finds Jedediah slumped over his typewriter in a drunk. Kane asks Mr. Bernstein to read the notice he began writing up. It was a bad review of Susan. In anger, Kane takes the paper and decides to finish the review of his wife himself.

Jedediah is told that Kane is continuing to let the review of her be bad. Kane was trying to prove he was an honest man by continuing the review in a truthful manner. As Kane is typing the review, he fires Jedediah. After firing him, Kane sends him a check for $25,000. He sends it back to Kane shredded in an envelope along with the principles Kane wrote when they took over the paper. In this scenes use of props, where the characters were in the room and the music, I felt what the director was saying. Jedediah was telling Kane he has changed. Jedediah no longer believed in him. That was it. They were done for good.

Susan tells the reporter, who we see at the beginning, that singing at the opera house that was built for her was Kane’s idea. He even paid for someone to give her voice lessons and the teacher believed she was not meant to sing. He told Kane that he would be the laughingstock of the town if he continued giving her lessons. Susan says Kane forced her to sing and she was being humiliated. Susan purposely took too much medication and became ill because of the pressure she was under. She was trying to end her life because she couldn’t get Kane to see her side and she didn’t want to go through with singing anymore.

The director used different techniques to help the audience connect to the film. The deep focus of the camera allowed the audience to see in a wider scope. Not only could we see the character he was focused on, but we could also see everyone else in the background. Also, the artistic transition from one scene to another was unique at the time the film was introduced. The dialog between characters in every scene along with costuming helped to tell a different part of the story. He pulls you in with many close-ups. In many scenes you see people talking over each other. Though it may be irritating at times, that is what makes the movie feel more authentic. In real life people talk over each other. This immersed me further into the world Kane lived in.

The directors use of transition during the montages leaves you feeling that time has gone by whether it be hours or years.

Towards the close of the film there is a moment Susan is alone with Kane in a tent and she begins to yell at him. She accuses him of never giving her anything that mattered to her. She screamed that everything he gave her was to buy her love for him. Not because he loved her. Because he wanted her to love him. She was accusing him of being selfish. I couldn’t believe he slapped her. I felt hurt and angry. I shed a tear as if it happened right in front of me. As if I in that moment, were Susan. When Susan stands up for herself and leaves Kane, I was proud of her, yet I was left feeling heartbroken for him. I put myself in his position and imagined how I felt when my spouse left me. I couldn’t stop crying for his pain. Kane went crazy with rage and destroyed her bedroom. I wanted to be in that room destroying her things.

When his rage was over, and he calmed himself he picked up a snow globe. The snow globe gave him a reminder of the day he was sent away from his mother as a child. He said “Rosebud” while looking into it. Rosebud was the trademark name on the back of the sled that Kane used to try and hit the banker with when he tried to stay with his mother. We find this out at the end of the film when someone picks it up and throws it into the incinerator. Susan leaving was as hurtful to Kane as when his mother sent him away when he was a child. When he dies, holding the snow globe it represents the trueness of love he felt for both his mother and for Susan.

I believe that Kane’s heart was always in the right place, but he lived stupidly with his spending. Had he bought a small home with Susan they would have remained happily married. They didn’t need a huge space or plenty of things. They needed a connection. Susan didn’t want material possessions. She wanted Kane to give her his heart. By the end of his marriage with Susan, Kane had isolated himself as well as Susan from everyone with his poor choices. Susan was very lonely with all the space of an empty palace. Kane bought the palace because he thought that’s what would make Susan happy. He tried to buy everyone’s love with things money buys but the people who loved him the most loved him unconditionally. Sadly, he didn’t realize it until it was too late. He dies alone.

Today the rich and famous live stupidly with their money. Like Kane, they simply buy bigger houses, bigger yachts, More and more expensive jewelry, and clothes they don’t need to name a few. They believe this will make them happy. You can be like Kane and have everything you’ve ever wanted and still end up all alone. Just because you have millions of dollars doesn’t mean you need 17 bedrooms and three living rooms. You can be just as happy living in a small house with the people closest to your heart. Your real friends and loved ones are people who aren’t afraid to tell you when you are being a jerk like Jedediah did for Kane when he sent the shredded check. There is nothing wrong with being rich and famous but don’t let it change you.