As I was exploring my new Kindle Fire, I decided to take a gander at the movies I can stream for free...well free being through my membership to Amazon Prime. I came across a movie that I have heard so much about, but never seen. Citizen Kane. After all, I have heard people talk about how great it is and how it is a "must see". If you don't know what "rosebud" is then obviously you don't pay attention to popular culture. Not having anything else to do, I decided why the hell not. So, I put my earphones on and had at it.
As the movie begins it is classic Orson Welles. The cinematography alone is captivating. The concept is a little intriguing. A boy is given away by this mother to a man who, she has entrusted with the money she has acquired from a land deal. Of course, the boy doesn't want to go but, he does and has the best of everything. But as he ages, the things that he longs for elude him. Love and happiness.
It begins with his dying words of "rosebud". Then all the sudden you are thrown into this newsreel of his life. His mansion in Florida is the at the center of the newsreel. Then the news men are in the viewing room, the head guy is saying that he wants a different spin on Kane's life. A more human story. So he enlists another to go in search of the meaning behind "rosebud". So, Mr. Thompson sets off to discover the meaning of it. He interviews several people; the ex-wife, the business manager and then the best friend. Reads the memoirs of the man who raised him. All through the process Kane's life is discussed but no mention of "rosebud". The people who knew him best really didn't know him. At the end of the movie, Mr. Thompson speaks to his butler and the butler tells him that he had only heard him utter that word once before and that was when his second wife left him. Mr. Thompson decides that no one knows what he meant by his dying words and the camera pans out over the vast collection of things that Kane has acquired through out his life. As the movie ends, you see the house staff throwing the "junk" in the furnace. They toss a sled into the furnace it is only then that you realize what it meant.
I am on the fence about this movie. I really don't know if I like it or not. The story of his life was interesting to watch unfold, but the ending left me unsatisfied. I felt like..."ok, I waited for this?" Do I agree with the number 1 status. No, I don't. I guess it is just a matter of opinion. Would I recommend it? It depends on the person.
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