Citizen Kane (1941) is widely regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, and for good reason. Directed by and starring Orson Welles, the film tells the story of Charles Foster Kane, a wealthy newspaper magnate whose rise to power and subsequent downfall are explored through a series of fragmented narratives. Although it was initially met with mixed reviews and was a commercial failure upon release, Citizen Kane has since gained legendary status due to its innovative storytelling, groundbreaking cinematography, and the way it challenged the conventions of filmmaking at the time.
At its core, Citizen Kane is a film about the elusiveness of truth and the complexity of human nature. The film opens with the death of Kane at his massive estate, Xanadu, uttering the word “Rosebud.” This mysterious final word sets off the central quest of the film: to uncover the meaning behind it and, in doing so, reveal the truth about Kane’s life. The narrative is structured around the investigation by a journalist, Jerry Thompson, who interviews people who knew Kane in an effort to solve the puzzle of his last word. Through these interviews, the film employs a series of flashbacks that reveal different facets of Kane’s character and life, each refracted through the subjective memories of those who tell his story.
One of the most striking aspects of Citizen Kane is its non-linear narrative structure. Rather than presenting Kane’s life in chronological order, the film jumps back and forth in time as different characters offer their perspectives on him. This fragmented storytelling technique was revolutionary at the time and is now seen as a precursor to modern films that play with time and memory, such as Christopher Nolan’s Memento (2000) or Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction (1994). The non-linear approach allows the film to explore the idea that no single narrative or perspective can fully capture the complexity of a person’s life. Each person who recounts their memories of Kane gives a slightly different version of him, highlighting the film’s central theme: the impossibility of fully knowing someone, even someone as larger-than-life as Charles Foster Kane.
Welles’ performance as Kane is central to the film’s success. He portrays the character with an almost Shakespearean complexity, moving from an idealistic young man full of ambition and hope to a bitter, isolated old man. Kane starts out as a figure of great promise, determined to use his wealth and influence for the greater good, but over time, his idealism is corrupted by his growing ego and thirst for power. Welles’ ability to convey this transformation is nothing short of remarkable, especially considering he was only 25 years old when he made the film. Kane’s gradual descent into isolation and emotional ruin is portrayed with such nuance and depth that the character becomes both a tragic figure and a cautionary tale about the dangers of unchecked ambition and wealth.
The film’s visual style is equally groundbreaking. Cinematographer Gregg Toland’s use of deep-focus photography allows for multiple planes of action to be visible within a single shot, creating a sense of depth and complexity that mirrors the film’s thematic concerns. This technique is most famously used in the scene where a young Charles Kane plays outside in the snow while, in the foreground, his parents and a banker sign away his future. The deep-focus photography allows the viewer to see both the child and the adults, underscoring the emotional distance between them. It also serves as a metaphor for the way decisions made in the background of Kane’s life—decisions over which he has no control—ultimately shape his destiny.
In addition to deep focus, Citizen Kane is renowned for its innovative use of lighting and shadows. Welles and Toland used high-contrast lighting to create a sense of mood and atmosphere, often employing stark shadows to reflect the characters’ internal states. For example, as Kane’s power grows, so does his physical size within the frame, often cast in shadow to suggest his moral ambiguity. This visual style borrows heavily from the German Expressionist movement, which influenced many Hollywood films of the 1940s, particularly in the film noir genre. The shadows and lighting in Citizen Kane are not just visually striking, but they also enhance the film’s exploration of themes such as the corrupting influence of power and the loneliness that often accompanies it.
The use of sound in Citizen Kane is another aspect that was innovative for its time. Welles, who came from a background in radio, used sound in ways that were revolutionary for cinema. He experimented with overlapping dialogue, unconventional transitions, and the use of echoes and reverb to create a sense of space and psychological depth. One notable example of this is the way sound is used to transition between scenes, such as when a loud cheer from a political rally seamlessly fades into the shrill cry of a cockatoo, marking a shift in time and tone. These sound techniques were bold and new in 1941 and have since become standard in modern filmmaking.
One of the central questions the film raises is what drove Kane to become the man he did. Was it his wealth? His desire for power and control? Or was it something more personal and emotional, such as his longing for love and acceptance? The answer, the film suggests, is a combination of all these factors. Kane’s tragic flaw is his inability to form genuine human connections. Throughout the film, we see him repeatedly try to buy love, whether through his marriages or through his attempts to control public opinion through his newspapers. His relationships with women, in particular, are revealing. Kane’s first wife, Emily, is a figure of prestige and power, but their relationship quickly deteriorates as Kane becomes more absorbed in his work and his political ambitions. His second wife, Susan Alexander, is a tragic figure, a woman whom Kane attempts to mold into a great opera singer despite her lack of talent or desire. His control over Susan becomes a symbol of his need to dominate every aspect of his life, and ultimately, it is his relationship with her that most clearly reveals his emotional emptiness.
The infamous “Rosebud” reveal at the end of the film is both poignant and ambiguous. After all the mystery surrounding Kane’s last word, it is revealed to be the name of his childhood sled, a symbol of the innocence and happiness he lost when he was taken away from his home and sent to live with a wealthy banker. The sled represents Kane’s lost youth and the simple pleasures of life that he was never able to recapture. However, the meaning of Rosebud is left open to interpretation. Is it simply a nostalgic symbol of lost innocence, or does it represent something deeper about the nature of Kane’s desires and failures? The film refuses to provide a definitive answer, reinforcing its central theme that no one perspective can fully explain the complexities of a human life.
Despite its critical acclaim, Citizen Kane was not an immediate commercial success. Part of this was due to the controversy surrounding the film’s thinly veiled portrayal of real-life newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, who used his vast media empire to try to suppress the film’s release. Hearst was reportedly furious about the film, particularly its unflattering depiction of Kane’s personal life, which many saw as a direct reflection of Hearst’s own. Hearst’s efforts to block the film’s distribution hurt its box office performance, and for years Citizen Kane was more of a cult classic than a mainstream hit. It wasn’t until the film was re-released and championed by critics in the 1950s and 60s that it began to be recognized as one of the greatest films ever made.
