Citizen Kane (NR, 1941)

As Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies, his last word is "Rosebud." Reporter Jerry Thompson is sent to find out who Kane really was and what Rosebud means. He meets with five different figures who were important in Kane's life to try to understand the small mystery of Kane's last word and the larger mystery of the man who was capable of both integrity and corruption, and who seemed to have no sense of peace or happiness. From the man who raised him to his second wife, Thompson delves into the life of Kane: His decision to buy a newspaper and its rise to an influential chain. His marriage to the niece of a president and his own ambition for public office. His affair with an aspiring opera singer. While the characters never reveal the meaning of "Rosebud," the viewer is permitted to solve the smaller mystery, but the answer only proves that there are never any simple answers to the complexity of the human spirit.

Kids who watch CITIZEN KANE can never know how revolutionary it was. Every one of its dozens of innovations, from the flashback structure to the use of sets with ceilings for additional authenticity, has become all but standard. No problem--there is time enough for them to study these aspects of the film's brilliance if they decide to learn more about film history and criticism. For their first viewing of this brilliant work, (and for purposes of a family discussion) just let them focus on the story, the dialogue, and the characters, which remain as compelling and contemporary as they were more than 50 years ago.

Like Willie Stark in All the King's Men, Kane begins as a populist and dies corrupt and alone, and we cannot help but hope for some explanation of how that happened, as Thompson does. Importantly, both Kane and Stark were based on real-life figures. Kane, of course, was based on William Randolph Hearst, the almost-impossibly wealthy heir to the largest gold and silver mine owner in America, who became a powerful publishing magnate. Kane might also have been based on Welles, only 25 years old when he co-wrote, directed and starred in this film, who then spent the rest of his life coming up with one excuse or another for why he never came close to that level of achievement again.