[Spoiler Warning]
To say Citizen Kane is brilliant is an understatement. It’s something you have to experience for yourself to get an idea of the magnitude of the masterpiece. Rather than give the traditional blog/critique style post of the film (since doing so would just be a list of accolades which still wouldn’t do the film justice — plus you could probably read any review somewhere else to get a critique), I want to pose a few questions I had about the film. Perhaps these questions are misguided by my ignorance or have obvious answers but they are what initially came to mind.
Before the questions though I will mention that one of the most interesting points (to me) in the film was the remark Thompson made at the end of the film:
“Mr. Kane was a man who got everything he wanted and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn’t get, or something he lost. Anyway, it wouldn’t have explained anything… I don’t think any word can explain a man’s life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a… piece in a jigsaw puzzle… a missing piece.”
What’s so remarkable is that we, the viewers, get to actually experience this very notion right after this statement is made. We discover what rosebud is and yet we are still left with an incomplete explanation of who Kane was. Anyways, here are some questions.
- What was the significance of the rundown golf course in the opening scene of Xanadu? Is it just meant to depict Kane’s extraordinary wealth?
- Is Kane being genuine when he initially writes the statement of principles? Did he really intend to adhere to a literal interpretation of the standards? Or was his failure to live up to them a sign of the corruption of his character?
- How did Kane acquire rosebud if he initially left it in the snow? Or was the rosebud we saw at the end actually the sled he’d gotten as a gift for Christmas from Thatcher?
- When Susan Alexander Kane initially performs the opera, at the end, Kane hesitates to clap until everyone else’s clapping dies down, then he stands up and claps intently. Why does he behave this way? Is this reflective of his thought process — perhaps his shock, but did he really expect anything different?
- Why does the final scene focus on the no trespassing sign? Is this a metaphor for the way in which the viewer cannot really know Kane — i.e. his character is “blocked” off from trespassers?
As of # 4, I think Kane brainwashed himself into believing that Susan is a terrific singer. He clapped louder and louder, and he wouldn’t stop clapping because he was always trying to prove something. In this case, he was trying to prove that he was right in marrying Susan and he was right about her talents, just like when he clapped the first time he heard Susan sing.