The groundbreaking 1941 film known as Citizen Kane is revered by film critics and movie fanatics alike as one of the greatest films of all time. The film not only carries its own weight with its storytelling, but also through how the film is seen by the audience. Citizen Kane is a work of art due to its cinematography and conveyance of the story being told.
The film revolves around the life of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, only not, for Kane is dead. The present focus is on an investigative reporter who, upon Kane’s death, tries to find the meaning behind Kane’s last word, “rosebud”. Through interviewing people connected to Kane, the reporter, while he fails to find what he was originally seeking, is able to uncover the personal life of one of the most powerful men in the world.
One of the themes of Citizen Kane revolves around the concept of analyzing another person’s life. One almost becomes a voyeur in the sense that they are prying into the life of another for only one story. And the story they seek may not even be accurate. Kane himself never gets to tell his own story, it’s told through the perspectives of people he knew, and all the biases that came with it. This form of storytelling keeps the audience pondering if what they really knew about Kane was true or not, exaggerated or accurate. The movie also plays with the idea of materialism and how it creates boundaries between the people one interacts with. This is especially prevalent at the end of the movie, for while Kane has wealth in material possessions, he ends up dying alone, with only his employees, who are more possessions than people, never able to regain what it was that truly matters.
The film also does well at portraying metaphors and motifs, such as the jig-saw-puzzle. First introduced as a fancy of his wife, Suzanne, the constant usage of the puzzle soon becomes a metaphor, not only for the investigator trying to piece together the answer he seeks, but also Kane himself, who at the end of the movie, has pieced together how he has lost himself. Also is the sled, which, at first, may appear as an ordinary toy, but, through the brief mention of it and the reveal of its significance in the end, comes to represent what Kane has lost. Despite all the possessions in the world, Kane will never be able to buy the boy that he once was.
And along with a good story comes equally well done cinematography. The film’s camera shots coordinate with the pacing of the film, a balance between calm and action. Slower, quieter scenes meant for the audience to absorb the atmosphere use longer shots with little camera movement. This is especially prevalent in the introduction, when the audience first sees Kane’s home, creating an ominous, abandoned atmosphere. And when the camera moves, it’s slow, and transitions gradually fade into one another. The focus is kept on the foreground, whereas the background is normally kept in a soft focus, unless emphasis needs to be placed on the surroundings.
By contrast, when there is action occurring or a moment of high energy, the camera finds the focal point of the action and stays with it, as though if it were to switch to another view point, it would miss something significant. Quick movements and dynamic compositions within the frames of the film enhance the action as it occurs. When Kane violently destroys Suzanne’s room in a tantrum, objects fly in diagonals to constantly keep the viewer’s eye moving and lead the viewer to the next target of Kane’s rage.
Scenes of exposition, however, such as the News on the March report on Kane’s death, are fast paced and throw a lot of information at the viewers, informing the audience of what is to come. One would think this would spoil the whole movie, but through telling the story once, and then telling it again in a more personal perspective, there are still surprises to be found. This use of action for a sequence that would normally be considered dull makes the information all the more memorable later on. Establishing shots are only used when needed to, and are often made more dynamic through the shadows and silhouette’s created by the cinematography.
Kane is built up in this movie to be larger in life, a person that should be impossible to be. This can be especially achieved through the low camera angles used frequently when Kane is the center of the scene, as it makes him appear tall, proud, and strong. There is little suspension of disbelief in Citizen Kane, with the exception of when it comes to Kane himself.
As for the sound of the movie, the dialogue is unrealistic in the sense that there is little overlapping and interruption of other character’s speaking. However, this helps to keep a flowing narrative unmarred by abrupt dialogue. When a sound effect does occur, it is muted so that it does not distract from the dialogue. Or, the exact opposite occurs, such as when glass breaks or furniture is tossed around the room. This effect is used to jar the audience and put them on edge. The music is helps to set the tone of the scenery; this is especially prevalent in the opening scenery montage, helping to put the audience on edge.
Perhaps the film’s greatest strength is in its usage of lighting. Citizen Kane is a black-and-white film, and it needs to stay that way. Too much would be lost if it were adapted into color. The high contrast in each frame, especially in the time of the present is almost stark black and white. The reporter is always kept in shadow, making him more of a guide or a narrator into the past of Kane rather than an actual character, much like how Nick Carraway is the narrator of the fast high life of Gatsby in The Great Gatsby. The use of the lighting creates such dynamic scenes and points of interests not commonly seen in any other film at the time. It creates the mood of the scene, and furthers the complexities of the characters. The movie would not have the strength it carries without the lighting.
Citizen Kane is successful as a movie and as an experience for the individual viewer and the audience. It actively interacts with the audience through its sights, sounds, and story. It is a prompter for the audience to look at the film at a deeper level, more so than what most films do today. This movie draws people into another world through its own ingenuity: the world of Citizen Kane.
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