Analysis of Citizen Kane Film - Essay Example

Citizen Kane Question The first scene of the movie sees Charles Foster Kane dying, lyingalone in his unfinished palatial mansion. The tone set at the scene is that of a sad tone. A man who has been living in seclusion for many years dies alone holding a snowball and uttering the words “Rosebuds” before taking his final breath. The music is slow and sad with the lighting deem only focusing on the man (Wells, 1941). The editor did an excellent job in bringing close the dying man after showing us his mansion and the bed he was lying in while taking his last breath. Question 2 In the scene, we see Charles Kane playing happily with the snow outside their humble home. Kane’s mother is trying to talk and send him to Thatcher so that he can receive a better education and have a bright future. The intense stare as the mother looks Kane straight in the eye trying to explain the situation to him shows how much she cares for her son and cares for him to receive a bright future. Kane’s mother wants him to go so as to receive the American dream (Bordwell &Thompson, 2011). There is much tension in the scene when Kane refuses to go with Thatcher as he is content with the kind of life he is living in his humble background. Thatcher and Kane’s mother talk to him through the window as he is playing in the snow. There is an argument as his mother forces him to go with Thatcher. The conversation ends with banging the window and leaves Kane with no option than to go discover the American dream. The relationship between Kane and his mother is an affectionate relationship as Kane loves his love of peace and serenity and quiet. Question 3 While reading the “Declaration of Principles”, Kane is cast in a shadow when he is reading the declaration aloud, but once he completes the reading he goes back to light. The use of lighting in this scene says two things about Kane. One is that Kane is not strong to be able to persist with the principles regardless his idealism being genuine (Carringer, 2004). The second thing is that the shadow also shows how the Inquirer and Kane will become the antithesis to the declaration he just read. Question 4 Leland recounts Kane’s first marriage and suggests he was in love with the wife that is why he married her. Kane was, however, brutal to his first wife that led to the end of their marriage. The breakfast sequence shows a lot of the things that was going on in their married life. At the beginning of the marriage, they are a happy newlywed couple, and they sit next to each other. They talk with smiles and laughs, and Mrs. Kane is wearing ravishing clothes. The next scene, they are wearing different clothes, there are new flowers on the breakfast table and the couple is a little bit farther apart from each other. It continues for a few more scenes until Mrs. Kane seats opposite Kane at the table. Mrs. Kane’s clothes go high up over her neck because she is becoming resentful of her husband. The conversation between the two is more bitter and sarcastic. The music in the scenes also gets more intense, suggesting that this was a tragedy. It is a beautiful shot that shows all the years of their marriage in approximately two minutes (Bordwell &Thompson, 2011). The scenes of their marriage deteriorating are one of the most effective sequences in the movie and his wife eventually leaves him after discovering the affair. Question 5 Leland is Kane’s best friend, but he criticizes him after he has lost the election. There is tension between the two men as Leland says Kane’s political views are outdated and thus his losing the election. The set design and the camera angle at the scene critic the argument as entertainment. It is entertaining to see Leland tell Kane his opinions and how he feels about his best friend. There is tension between the two as Kane stands in front of Leland speechless with an anger expression on his face. There is a disappointment and loss of belief and trust in Leland’s voice as he accuses Kane of only thinking of himself and not caring about the opinion of the people who love him and support him unconditionally. The editing of the scene brings Leland closer during the confrontation to show how angered he is by Kane’s action (Wells, 1941). Kane, however, does not think the impact of his actions are that bad, and he does not care he has hurt his people. The scene clearly shows his expressions and the tension between the two men. Question 6 Susan is terrified as she is standing backstage ready to perform her first debut opera at a Chicago musical. There are props being set on the stage already, and during her final preparation she does not look ready for the performance. The scene shows how chaotic the backstage is and thus the feeling of Susan concerning her debut album. She is not prepared to be an opera singer, and she does not want to try it. Leland feels that Kane pushed Susan to sing because when their affair was on the newspaper, and it depicted her as a singer. Leland seems that Susan does not want to sing neither is she talented in the art. Kane is in the full operation of Susans voice like a stilted aural marionette that is controlled directly by Kane’s vocal chords. Kane utters the commands - Susan vocally contorts. Kane goes as far as employing a vocal trainer to seal Susans identity into a retainer of his control (Carringer, 2004). The dialog between Susan and Kane shows how scared Susan is of the man more than she is afraid of performing poorly at the Chicago Musical. Question 7 The first time Kane sees the snow globe is when he meets Susan. The snow globe reminds Kane of his mother and his childhood. Susan leaves Kane and Kane decides to turn her room upside down in rage. He cannot believe that Susan is leaving him. He destroys the room, takes the snow globe and walks past the mirrors damaged man. The snow globe represents the peace and serenity Kane had known before he was taken away by Thatcher as a small boy. He initially loved being by himself and found peace and tranquility in staying alone. The life Kane is living at the moment is miserable, and maybe the only thing that would give him peace, is the snow globe (Wells, 1941). Kane eventually drops the snowball as he is dying, and it links his life to his childhood. He had a peaceful and orderly life until just like Susan his mother had abandoned him while he was a child. There is a link between Susan and Kane’s mom through the snow globe that he mentions only twice in the movie. Question 8 The word “Rosebud” is uttered by Kane from the very beginning of the film before he dies. Thompson searches for the significance of the puzzle piece throughout the movie. The mystery of the “Rosebud” holds the film together and makes it not have a documentary-like a feel to it. The magic makes the film a quest to find out more Kane. Thompson, however, was unable to solve the enigma and believes the saying will always remain a mystery. After he concludes his speech, the next scene we see Kane’s possessions being burned and among them a sled with the writing “Rosebud”. The sled was the one at the scene when Kane was sent away from his parents’ home as a child. The scene makes us know that physically Rosebud was a sled, but it still represents a lot more than a sled (Carringer, 2004). The sled, Rosebud depicts Kane’s childhood, and it was the only point in his entire life that he was truly carefree and happy. References Bordwell, D. &Thompson, K. (2011). Minding Movies: Observations on the Art, Craft, and Business of Filmmaking. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Carringer, R. L. (2004). The Scripts of Citizen Kane: Orson Welless Citizen Kane: A Casebook. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Wells, O. (1941). Citizen Kane. New York City: Mercury Productions. Read More