Rosebud **Spoilers Herein**

Rating: 10/10 (19 June 2004)

**SPOILERS HEREIN** You have been warned.
The sled is not the answer, and Citizen Kane knows it. Yet almost all of the film is told in flashback to discover what Charles Foster Kane's last words meant. The sled was `rosebud,' and finding this out in that last scene is nothing short of satisfying. A sixty year old sled cannot explain a man's life or answer and any lingering questions about him, and yet knowing that Rosebud was his childhood sled is one of the most satisfying `answers' to a mystery in cinematic history.	Charles Foster Kane's entire life is told in a flashback through a journalists eyes (we're always looking through his eyes because we always see his back). Through a newsreel, there is the Kane who `spoke for the common man' yet had the largest estate in America. Through his bank-owning guardian Thatcher, there is the Kane who squandered his fortune for a small newspaper and started those despicable tabloids. Through his best friend Leland, there is the Kane who wrote a dubious Declaration of Principles and went against everything it stood for years later, and who chose his mistress over his political career. Through his admiring assistant Bernstein, there is the Kane who entertained millions, and who wrote Leland's bad review for Susan Alexander (`sure, everyone knows that story'). Through Susan Alexander, there is the Kane who made shadow figures on the wall but never gave her anything she really cared about. There is the Kane through Thomson, the journalist, who says: `You know, in a way, I kinda feel sorry for the man.'	Kane was always a man who people couldn't quite figure out. He was a man who saw what he wanted and knew how to get it. But it is obvious, through Orson Welles' superb acting, that Kane wants something more than just material goods or power. He is never seen admiring one of his statues or gazing at one of his paintings. Mainly, he wants love. He cannot truly love so he wants double the love for himself. He creates his own love, only to learn that love cannot be created. He creates a political appearance, so that people may hate the opposition and love him. He even creates an operatic career out of his second wife, so that people may love what he has produced. This is the Kane that the people around him could sense. Leland, Susan, even Thomson, all saw the Charles Foster Kane who had lost almost everything he had, and just could not fathom that love too could be lost.
Then there is the Kane who is alone. Even though all of his life is told in flashback and all of the events were witnessed by someone, there are intimate scenes in which a man is revealed who was surrounded by people and yet died alone. There is the boy playing outside in the snow while his parents determine his future. There is the Kane (his face hidden in shadow) clapping longer than anyone else for Susan's performance. There are the many Kanes reflected through parallel mirrors. There is the Kane letting out all his anger and he destroys Susan's room and his mistakes. There is the Kane who utters `Rosebud' before he drops the wintry ball and dies. RosebudÂ… Bernstein seems to think it was something that he remembered and wished he had from a long time ago. Leland thinks it was something he lost. Thomson thinks both: `He got everything he wanted, and then lost it. Maybe Rosebud was something he couldn't get, or something he lost. Anyway, I don't think it would have explained everything. I don't think any word can explain a man's life. No, I guess Rosebud is just a piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece.' The sled is what young Charlie Kane loves and plays with in the snow, and also uses in a feeble attempt to escape from Thatcher. The sled is what Charlie was reminded of when Thatcher tried to give him a new sled for Christmas. The sled is a satisfying `ending' for reasons that are hard to put into words. The sled is the core of the stunted development of Kane's private life. It is the symbol of hope, innocence, longing and security. It is the origin and a reminder of a time before greatness. It's a `what if.' But when Charles Kane dies, for him, Rosebud is love.

My grade: 9/10