Review of Citizen Kane (1941)
A major celebrity dies alone in his vast estate, mysteriously whispering “Rosebud”. A company produces a newsreel about the man’s scandalous life, but the boss insists that the newsreel lacks a good “angle” to wrap it all up. An editor reluctantly departs to interview several people who were close to the fallen tycoon at various times in his life, hoping to discover the identity of Rosebud and revise the newsreel with it. If he finds it, what can it truly signify?
An often brutal stylistic experiment in the modernist quest for identity. It’s got mystery, drama, noir and painterly composition. One thing that bothers me is the lack of importance attributed to Kane’s only child.
References here: More experienced critics rate movies lower, Pengar – en tragikomisk saga (1946), Flicka och hyacinter (1950), Wings of Honneamise: Royal Space Force (1987).