A Review of Citizen Kane (by someone who has only viewed one scene in an intro level film class)

Citizen Kane is a movie. A lot of people have heard of it. It is old, as evidenced by the fact that it is in black and white, and that the actors talk with funny voices. Men wear suits during it at least a few times, so you can tell it is pretty serious – a drama, if you will. The scene we watched in class: Wow. What’s going on in it? I don’t even know. Seriously, I don’t know. I was looking at my phone during it because my friend texted me about cancelling our dinner plans, which I was totally okay with. But here’s my interpretation of it:

There’s a little boy named Charles Kane, but people called him Citizen Kane for short. He lives somewhere really cold, and we know this because it is snowing very hard outside. His mom’s worried about… Him? Money? Probably both. Everyone’s life was harder back then. She hangs out inside with Citizen’s dad, and a lawyer. The lawyer says that she owns him and is allowed to give him to the bank. His dad seems irresponsible, so this is probably for the best.

The boy plays outside by himself. He yells a lot. He has a sled, but doesn’t really do much with it. It doesn’t matter. We can see him through the window and it looks like he’s in a box so that’s kind of cool and probably metaphorical.

A car comes to take Kane away. The people who work at the bank are in it I think. He must say goodbye to his parents. It’s an awkward exchange.

All in all, I’d give it about a B+. This movie’s supposed to be about Citizen Kane, but he’s a very passive character. All he does is play in the snow. Yet it is a story we can all relate to: playing in the snow, parents being unfair, etc. It is a true tale of Boyhood (a movie I have seen in its entirety. It is so my life.).

Feel free to check out Citizen Kane if you want. I’ve heard it’s good.