I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, and now I can. This film tackles big themes of power, celebrity, love, truth, integrity, loneliness, success, failure, ambition and folly. It’s radical in its patchwork flashback structure, and it pieces together the narrative like the jigsaws attempted by Kane’s second wife. It’s a mystery story – what did Kane’s dying words (“Rosebud”) mean? Plus, there’s huge technical innovation: it’s so imaginatively shot in terms of the use of light and shadow. It’s also a great story that’s no less relevant now.
Producer, co-screenwriter, director and star Orson Welles is riveting in the lead role. You realise that Leonardo diCaprio has learned a lot from his manner in this film.
