Citizen Kane (1941) August 5, 2006
Posted by derek in : Reviews, Drama , trackback 
Like all the great movies it is perfectly possible to sit down and watch Citizen Kane (1941) and enjoy it as simply a cracking piece of entertainment. Forget the film’s reputation and what it is trying to say just get carried along by the storyline which to me is perfectly clear and incredibly cinematic.
It is a movie that uses all the techniques of film up to that time and invents new ones but to me the virtuosity is invisible because I’m caught up in this incredible biopic of a great American told in a revolutionary but totally natural way.
Right from the opening scene it seizes your attention in a way few films do with the death of its title character then that incredible recreation of the March of Time. A biopic that starts at the end and then pieces together his life from the memories of those who knew him : very few non-linear movies have been made, even fewer have tried to recreate a man’s life in this way, providing all these viewpoints : I find that fascinating and compelling : what it all adds up to is up to you, the film’s incredible technique and innovative story-telling are enough to enjoy it.
It is fairly obvious Hearst was Welles’ target : there are too many resemblances to Hearst’s life to make it a coincidence. Susan Alexander is very different from Marion Davies though : the comparison was of course always going to be made. Hearst had huge power back then and was most furious I believe about the Susan Alexander character. He damaged the film quite badly with boycotts and ruined any chance it had of winning the Academy Award for Best Film of 1941 : it should have been a certainty.
Welles was damaged too : it is significant I think that Kane was the only American film he ever made which wasn’t tampered with by studio bosses. He never made a better film for me anyway. In a sense Orson eventually won when the movie was elevated to the high critical reputation it now IMO deservedly enjoys.
I think it is a little simplistic to blame Kane (1941) as well for labelling Marion Davies as a no talent actress. She was a delightful comedienne but had made films as recently as the mid 30s, one film didn’t obliterate her legacy.
As for the “message” I basically think it is about the dangers of becoming obsessed by power and money. The ROSEBUD sled is a symbol of Kane’s lost childhood when he was loved by his mother. His inheritance and the guardianship by Mr Thatcher deprived him of a mother’s love and off the ability to make a life of his own back of merit. His attempts to make the New York Inquirer a champion of the people tried to achieve this but the movie shows quite clearly that power corrupts and principles go out the window because of privilege.
Yes there is politics in the movie and I admit I’m interested in the subject but I’m also cynical about it. Citizen Kane (1941) is too : it is not championing politicians or their lives it is blatantly critical of them : their hypocrisy and sleaze.
Hope that helps you to enjoy and make sense of it. To me it is one of the great movies : incredibly visual, great music which swells to a crescendo at the end as ROSEBUD burns : one of the great movie moments.
(5 stars out of 5)
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