Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane begins with an extended news report about the death of Charles Foster Kane. It is not the most gripping of openings, but it provides a way into the story of his life - through showing us a journalist trying to get a different story from anyone else and looking for the meaning of Charles Foster Kane’s last word: Rosebud.

The film then proceeds through interviews of those he knew, and flashbacks on scenes from his life. The life shown throughout is complex, and doesn’t lend itself to easy moral judgements. Charles Foster Kane is at times generous and well loved, and at others jealous and despised. The film is a portrayal of a man who was never truly satisfied with his life - mirrored in the way the journalist never finds the answer to his questions, though the audience does.

As relevant to the world today as it was when it was made, the corrupting effects of money, power, and influence on the lives of those who wield them are shown through the feature, and yet there is a compassion in the film’s portrayal of Charles Foster Kane, and it never comes across self-righteous or judgemental. Instead, it is a truly atmospheric piece that is emotionally engaging, and gripping. The reputation that this film has for being the best ever made (and its place at the top of the Sight and Sound poll every decade since 1962 until its fall to second place in 2012) is very well deserved.