This movie is regularly found at or near the top of lists of the greatest films of all time. Though few can argue with how great the story is, it can be hard to see what all the fuss is about. The fuss is worth it. There are so many things to love about this movie. Every time I write on a bona fide classic, I am standing on the shoulders of many other people who know a lot more about movies than I do. Here I stand on those shoulders, yet I hope to contribute something unique as well.
For those who don't know, the film tells the story of a young boy who is taken away from his home, given a great education, and ultimately goes into the newspaper business. He becomes and enormously successful newspaper mogul, and with all of the wealth and power we see a fragile existence underneath it all. The film begins with Kane's death, and Kane's story is told in flashbacks by people who knew him.
One of the things that is always the case with a trailblazing work of art is that it's imitated so much that it can be hard to remember how special the original is. "Star Wars" comes to mind. Here, one of the things that stands out is the visual imagination of the film. Many of the visual effects in the movie which seem mundane now were quite new at the time. For instance, there is a shot in which the camera pans into a night club and focuses in on Kane's ex wife. It is a shot with tremendous visual imagination and passion for the cinematic medium. An example might help. In Wes Anderson's latest film, "Moonrise Kingdom", there's a scene which echoes one of Citizen Kane's signature moments. As Bill Murray and Frances McDormand end their day, they come to rest in their bedroom. As the debate, Anderson's camera stays focused on their faces as they debate about their daughter. It is only after several exchanges that Anderson pulls back his camera to show that the two of them are sleeping in double beds. I thought of "Citizen Kane" when I saw this. As the character of Kane begins his first marriage, we see the couple sitting at dinner. At first, the couple sits close together in an intimate fashion. Then, director Orson Wells uses visuals to depict the passing of years of time in only minutes of film time. With each shot, we see the couple growing more distant. They become more and more annoyed with each other. This whole time, the only thing Wells shows is the faces of the characters. After the characters become completely exasperated with each other, Wells shows us the new reality of the couple. They are now dining far away from each other, sitting at an enormous dining table metaphorical miles apart. All of this is simply communicated visually.
There are so many scenes like that in the movie that an encyclopedia could be written about it. But all of the visual imagination in the world would amount to nothing without a story told well. The story is a great story, and it is told in a nonlinear fashion which brings an artistic quality to the storytelling. Movies as far away in content as "Pulp Fiction" work in the shadow of "Citizen Kane." The mystery of the opening line is never totally solved, but the famous final shot does give us a wonderful enigma upon which to chew.
As I write, "Citizen Kane" has finally been dethroned in the Sight and Sound movie. For 50 years, this movie stood at the top of this poll that is taken every ten years. The poll asks critics and directors to nominate their ten best films, and when the votes are tallied, the film that appears on the most polls wins the poll. "Citizen Kane" was finally dethroned by Hitchcock's "Vertigo". They are both fine films, but "Kane" always won the poll, I suspect, due to its influence. As a younger generation of critics begin taking the poll, it makes sense that the films that were closer to them may rise on the list, though "Kane" only dropped one spot to number 2. I suspect that "Kane" will continue to be on the list for years to come, simply due to its scope and influence. But, it could not be more fitting to see that with the passage of time, other films rise in younger viewers' estimation. Though I love "Kane", it would not appear in a personal top 10. I think that it really gets at how important influence is as people perceive greatness. If I had to try to measure greatness, I suppose "Kane" would be in a top ten of mine. But that would only be if art were as measurable as a person's foot. Instead, art is a confluence of many things. It touches on individual experiences and emotions that make no two people's experience the same. The reason a poll like this is so interesting is that it shows the enormous influence of the films on the list. People from different walks of life all felt "Kane" still deserved a spot on this list. That is noteworthy, and when one looks at "Citizen Kane" for the first time, digests it, and watches it again, it becomes clear what all the fuss is about.
No comments:
Post a Comment