The film Citizen Kane directed by Orson Welles shows us a multifaceted view of Charles Fost Kane. He uses a variety of innovative film techniques to show Kane who struggle with love, power, truth and so on .Through Thompson, we go through five close people relate with Kane and know the different"faces"of Kane. But none of them knows the meaning of Kane' dying word "Rosrbud". The Charles Foster Kane that Orson Welles presents just like Thopson says " There isn't one word can describe a man's life." The director Orson Welles shows us a man who is pathetic in love when he is a child. In Thatcher's memoirist, when the movie appears Kane' childhood ,we hear romantic and happy music and we see Kane playing happy. It shows us Kane is joyous. When Thatcher and his parents is in the house discuss Kane. Orson Welles uses deep focus to show the window, through the window ,we can see Kane is amused in the snow.
Orson Welles, March 1, 1937
Screenshot of Orson Welles from the trailer for th...
English:When he knows that he will leave his mother ,we can see tear out of Kane'eye. When he leaves , the sled which Kane plays with happily is left in the snow. It is just like Kane ,he is abandoned in the snow. Then Orson Welles uses low angle shot to show Thatcher is powerful to young Kane .Thatcher doesn't like what Kane' parents do to Kane, he has no way to run away. We can see his unhappy face, his "father" doesn't give him love,hs just power to him. How pitiful he is ,when he is a child ,his partents leaves him, he gets a "father" doesn't gives love to him . He becomes lonely ,just like the abandoned sled in the snow, so when he has grown he is selfish to give love..
Kane is shaped by Orson Welles who is very selfish in love. When his second wife Susan failed in the perform, she said she didn't want to sing. But, Kane said "You will continue with your singing" then he goes to Susan,. In this scene, Orson welles uses low angle shot to show Kane's power to Susan, his eyes are relentlessly upon on her .Then his shadow covered her face. Orson wellse here use shadow to show his dark power. It just like put Susan in Kane's dark world , she is totally in control of Kane .her eyes are filled with dread. At last ,she fall on her knee showing she has gave in. what a selfish man Orson welles has presents to us. His darling doesn't want to sing, he don't want to be ridiculed and order her to sing. He doesn't care other's feeling, what he considers just himself in love. Obviously, Orson welles presents Kane as a man who is complex, both pathetic and selfish in love, so when he grows up, he wants to use his self-conceit power to buy love.
The director Orson welles unfolds Kane is self-conceit in power. He uses an excellent montage with long shot to show Kane's first marriage with Emily from happy to break. The montage begin with long shot, Kane serves Emily milk, the relationship between is so sweet. The third shot , music change from romantic to heavy. The Inquirer attack the president, Kane says " This mistake will be corrected" the he can't help himself smiling. It shows us he is controlless in power,he want to be the president. Then next shot, Emily says " people will think...."Kane breaks her word and says "what I tell them to think". The word really show Kane is self-conceit in power, he thinks he can control other's thought, he could make people think what he tell them to think, he thinks he has the ability to do that. Clearly , Orson welles uses a set of montage shots showing Kane becomes controlless and self-conceit in power, moreover he believes his power can control truth , so he becomes arrogant and ruthless in truth.
The man displayed by Orson Welles is who very arrogant and ruthless in truth. In the early newpaper days, Kane writes Declaration of Principles, he says " I would like to make the New York Inquirer as important an gas light". Then he turns off the light, light here is symbol of truth. He turn off the light shows he can control the truth , he can make the light on and off, it means he can make the truth under his control. Then he says " I will .......tell all the news honestly" and his second promise start with "I". Orson welles here shows us Kane thinks he can give people the truth. Furthermore, when Kane is finishing the bad review of his second wife in the way Leland begin. Leland walks to him, he says " of course we are talking. you are fired" Orson welles here uses deep focus to show Kane and Leland' face, we can see there is no brow in his face even no sadness clearly .It seems that he is willing to lose a friend and willing to write a bad news about his wife, he doesn't care to lose his only friend. So in all, Orson Welles reveals an intricate Kane who is ruthless and arrogant in truth.
"Rosebud" with this word, Orson Welles gives us many different "faces "of Kane. He presents a multifaceted view of Kane, who is pathetic and selfish in love, who is self-conceit in power, who is arrogant and ruthless in truth. However, no one knows the meaning of Rosebud , at last we know that Rosebud is a sled in Kane' childhood. What we know just what rosebud is ,but not what it means .Kane just like the smoking out of the chimney at the end of the film, hard to catch and hard to discern.