The film begins at the end… then proceeds to explore the life of a man in a series of vignettes, through the eyes of those who knew him… while this may not sound like a groundbreaking idea today, “Citizen Kane” was the first film to use non-linear storytelling like this. With its revolutionary writing and innovative use of lighting, contrast, and camera angles, many still consider it to be the best film every made, the measuring rod by which all other films are sized up and critiqued.

I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. And who knows whether he will be a wise man or a fool? Yet he will have control over all the work into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. For a man may do his work with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then he must leave all he owns to someone who has not worked for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. – Ecclesiastes 2:18-21

As this fictional story of “Charles Foster Kane”—a thinly-veiled biography of media mogul William Randolph Hearst—opens with the man’s last word: “Rosebud”, the man shuffles off this mortal coil at his luxurious, palatial home, a veritable kingdom of priceless treasures and a testament to greed and capitalism; the man had built an empire, and yet dies alone and unhappy. A reporter attempts to discover the significance of Kane’s last, tragic whisper. This leads him to confidential writings, old friends, and ex-wives, as he tries to get the scoop on who—or what—the mysterious “Rosebud” might be.

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For a written review of Citizen Kane, and other reviews, you can also visit http://cinemagogue.com