Citizen Kane Point Of View

I believe what Orson Welles is trying to portray through the movie Citizen Kane is the difficulty that goes into describing a person’s life after they have passed on. The reporter Thompson investigates Kane’s story and witnesses it unfold as it is told by those closest to him. Although this makes you wonder how different it would have been if Kane got to tell his own story rather than rely on the reminiscences of his colleagues because not a single one of these people knew or could figure out what drove Charles Foster Kane. The only person who could have fully understood Kane was Thatcher, but his concerns focused more on making money rather than the loneliness of a child. With each perspective we get on Kane’s life as well as the lack of his own point of view, it forces us to question what truly mattered in Kane’s life. With his last words and

This isolation is even more emphasized by the camerawork in the movie. For example, Kane starts off as a happy child outside playing in the snow, alone. A short time later, the camera isolates him from his parents as they plan to send Kane away from home. Next we see him by himself seated in the middle of a room surrounded by dark suited men who watch as he opens a gift he got from Thatcher. This isolation follows Kane well into adulthood where he is seen sitting by himself in his office while a celebration is going on in his honor. The camera focuses on Kane in a sort of triangular shot as he is in between Leland and Bernstein as they discuss Kane’s tactics in succeeding. The nature of the discussion between Bernstein and Leland and the way the frame is shot leaves Kane as an outsider, despite them being in physical proximity. Eventually both Bernstein and Leland leave Kane, resulting in Kane barricading himself in his estate with