Citizen Kane

The Greatest Movie of ALL Time!....Really? Citizen Kane has been labeled as one of or the greatest. Why? What does this movie have to receive such a honorable title? The movie was filmed over 60 years ago and yet it is still considered one of the greatest; after all these years we still have not topped Citizen Kane?

The story line is what pulled me in. The film starts off by giving you all the answers and then asks a question. Who is Rosebud I kept thinking throughout the movie. I really was getting curious who this Rosebud was, and what had she done to effect Charles Foster Kane's life. The movie consisted of journalist talking with Kane's past acquaintances in hopes of getting a lead. Rosebud was the last thing that Kane uttered before he passed, and the journalists were hoping that his last breath would answer all the questions of his life. What kept me interested in the movie was the fact that I wanted to know who Rosebud was. "It'll probably turn out to be a very simple thing," Mr. Rawlston quoted in the movie about Rosebud. He even went on to infer that it may even be a girl that Kane saw but never met. During the duration of the movie I kept looking for clues about Rosebud. I was hoping to have the mystery figured out before the end. I had developed my theory of Rosebud as being a lady from his adult life to maybe something dealing with the women of his childhood--his mother. The very last scene of the movie when the reporter was saying something about how Rosebud will never be understood and that's ok, a lightbulb went off in my head and I thought maybe it had something to do with the sled. Just as my new theory arose the camera passed over the name of the sled revealing the name Rosebud. This however did not answer all the questions of Charles Foster Kane's life but yet instead lead to more questions.

Much like the beginning of the movie; the answer is revealed and then followed by more questions. Maybe this is one reason the movie has kept its appeal, it doesn't answer questions but yet reaches into the viewers thoughts and causes them to make their own answers.