Citizen Kane

It is very obvious why Citizen Kane was such a success among critics. Orson Welles masterfully crafts a tale of deceit, love, and tragedy. Before I get into what makes this film just so great, I would like to give you a brief background of the story. A young Charles Foster Kane leaves his home in order to pursue a better life. His mother sends him to New York to get a better education, and he ends up excelling like no one ever imagined. Originally, Kane purchases the enquirer as a hobby. However, he soon turns this previously small time newspaper into a massive, nation wide newspaper. Welles does a beautiful job directing this masterpiece. One thing that I really took note of was the “No Trespassing” sign that we see both in the beginning of the movie and at the very end. Throughout his whole life, Kane was viewed as an introvert; someone who would rather be alone than in the thick of things. This is ironic because most at the time viewed him as a greater than god power. I think that the no trespassing sign is symbolic of this. What it symbolizes is the tendency of Kane to push people out of his life. He doesn’t want people trespassing on his own life, because he would rather do it himself. Another good example of Welles masterful directing is the scene in which Kane’s wife overdoses on her medicine. Welles uses a deep focus on Kane and a soft focus on the medicine, yet we notice that he doesn’t focus on his wife’s face at all.