Mark Twain once said something along the lines of a classic being something people praise but don’t read.  I sort of had this idea about Citizen Kane going into the movie.  I thought it would be filled by a lot of dialogue that would slowly lull an audience desensitized by the more action-packed films of the 21st century.  While the movie consists of the dialogue between a reporter and the people he interviews who knew Mr. Kane, vivid flashbacks accompany each conversation.  The character of Charles Kane himself is filled with the ambition of finding approval that’s difficult to look away from.  The film is consistently regarded as one of the best of all time, due to its experimental shots, nonlinear storytelling, and other features less common in Hollywood at the time.

While Kane does have charisma and is able to convince people to do risky things, like having an affair with him, his energy and persuasive power seem to stem from the lack of compassion and care he faced as a child.  Early on, the movie shows him being removed from his family at a very young age.  The film did a good job of showing the audience Kane’s interactions with others and why he was liked, but I think it also did a good job of garnering the audience’s pity for the man.  Persistence is an honorable trait and the audience is able to see the dedication Charles Kane invests in his media endeavors, along with the fame those endeavors bring.  The camera also shows a behind the scenes look at how stubborn and controlling Kane is and the price he pays for his success.  Overall, I liked it.