Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane is an American classic movie.  It was written and directed by Orson Wells in 1941.  He actually portrayed the leading character.  It was his first feature film. 

The main character, Charles Foster Kane, was a wealthy media proprietor living alone in an estate for the last years of his life.  The movie opens up with Mr. Kane lying on his death bed.  He was holding a snow globe and utters the word “Rosebud”.  The snow globe slips out of his dying hand and rolls onto the floor and shatters into pieces.  His death then becomes a media sensation. Jerry Thompson, a newsreel reporter, tries to find out about Charles Foster Kane’s private life and in particular, discover the meaning behind his last dying word, “Rosebud”.  The reporter starts interviewing Charles’ family, wives, business associates and friends and the story unfolds into a series of flashbacks.  The technique of using flashbacks had been used in earlier films but no film was so immersed in this technique as in this movie.

The flashbacks reveal that Charles’ childhood was spent in poverty.  His parents ran a boarding house. However, in lieu of payment one month, a tenant gives his mother some stock which turns out to give them ownership to one of the world’s largest gold mines.  Finding herself suddenly wealthy, she sends her young son, Charles, away to be raised by her banker.   This separation from his parents and home leaves Charles insecure and resentful.  He felt abandoned and unloved.  As a result, he grows up to be an arrogant man.

At the age of twenty-five, he starts working in the newspaper business and ends up running the New York Inquirer.   He becomes very powerful and manipulative.

During this time, Charles’ attitude alienates him from everyone who cares about him and he eventually loses his business, family and friends.  He is alone from the outside world.  He dies at his home all by himself. 

The question throughout the film continues to be who or what is “Rosebud”.  Director Welles does a great job of keeping the audience curious and intrigued.  The flashback scenes of Charles’ life were informative but still did not give away the answer to the question on the audience’s mind.

Finally, at the end of the movie, it is revealed to the viewers that “Rosebud” was the name of Charles’ sled that he treasured from his very early childhood days.  It is ironic that “Rosebud” actually symbolizes that the only time the main character was truly happy was during his early childhood years when he had nothing. All the riches and power Charles Kane had obtained and worked for during his adult life did not compare with the happiness he had back then.  The ending puts a great twist on a movie about a power-hungry individual who really did not need any of those things to be happy in life.