Hannah Huwe, Citizen Kane

 
    At first I was a little bit apprehensive about watching this film But after reading reviews and watching videos about it, I felt like I was able to understand the movie more therefore I was able to enjoy it more. Orson Welles and Gregg Toland did a great job in adding to the meaning of the story with the use of cinematography. The film would not be the same with out its lighting techniques and careful use of camera lenses and angles.
    Charles Kane had an extreme need to be loved which stemmed from his childhood. He needed love so much that he often missed a lot of joys in his life. For example, when Susan was leaving him she said that he just needed her love and that he didn't love her back. He missed out on a successful marriage because he was so focused on filling the empty void in his life. He tried to fill this with objects and wealth but nothing could compare to "Rosebud", a symbol from his life that represented the last time he truly felt "complete" and happy. Dirks and Giannetti have said of him that "Kane's life was corrupted and ultimately self-destructed by a lust to fulfill the American dream of success, fame, wealth, power and immortality."
    The whole movie goes along with the puzzle piece theme. It was represented by the search to find out what Rosebud meant. There were many pieces that needed to be put together but in the end the audience is the only one who sees the "missing puzzle piece". There is one scene where Susan is at a table with a puzzle and is talking about how she wants to go to New York and about how lonely she feels in the palace and I thought it symbolized how she was just another puzzle piece to his life. He wasn't interested in the things that she wanted to do or the fact that she was unhappy. It was almost like her purposes of being in his life was to fill the hole in his heart, to be one of his puzzle pieces.
    This film simply would not be the same without its use of brilliant cinematography. Through the lighting, photography, music, and camera angles, the film was really brought to life. It is seen right away with the fish eye shot through the broken snow globe of the nurse. For me things like this make the movie more exciting and easier to watch. The use of deep focus photography was excellent. Especially the scene where Charles is a young boy playing out side and his parents are indoors deciding his future. It added a lot more meaning for the camera to be filming those inside while he was still in focus. It was the last time in his life where he was playing happy and carefree, meanwhile his parents inside were making a decision that would change this for him forever, even though his mother did it to protect him.
    I noticed in this film that lamps and shadows were incorporated into the lighting similar to how they were in Casablanca. Lighting sets the mood of the scene and this adds a great touch. Also the way light was used by coming in through the windows was interesting. It almost gave me the feeling that the rooms with lighted windows in the background had life in them. The music and sound in this film were also very important. It is used sometimes to direct us in what emotion to feel during a certain scene and overall gives to movie flow and meaning.