Good, But Ultimately Weak

Rating: 6/10 (24 December 2006)

When you hear people talk about the greatness of this movie, it usually has a lot to do with its technical brilliance, which I can't contend with. But to call it the greatest movie ever made seems rather arbitrary when you compare it to a long line of equally inventive and well put together stories that have come since (not to mention more entertaining). The only reason I can imagine that it has risen to this level of acclaim is that so many people have called it the best that it makes anyone who disagrees look like they just don't "get it." So, Citizen Kane longs for the simplicity of his childhood, when happiness was so easily attained. If Kane could whisper to us he would say that what he wants is unconditional love, from someone who has nothing to gain. What he has been seeking is the love of his mother, who at the first opportunity abandons him, perhaps because of his rambunctious nature. He would tell us that when you only seek your own happiness you are incapable of love. I say I get it but it just isn't as clever as you'd like to believe it is. Agreeing that this is the greatest movie ever is like agreeing that the Citroen DS is the most attractive car ever. Everyone knows that it really isn't, but they humor it because it makes them look deep. I believe that movies serve a specific purpose, and if they fail to achieve this purpose they have failed, period. The way I measure the quality of a movie, is by its ability to do what a movie is supposed to. Fiction exists as a mirror, to reflect back at us the fundamental truths of the human experience. A good movie should be one that takes us to a place of emotional enlightenment. It scratches that part of the human psyche that only the most moving moments of life can accomplish; moments of sadness, joy, anticipation, excitement etc. But surely if a movie fails to move you it fails. I cannot imagine how this movie could have possibly floored anyone. I can recall many movies that have left me a lot more moved: American Beauty, Godfather II, The Shawshank Redemption, Requiem for a Dream, Fight Club, Forrest Gump, and Saving Private Ryan to name a few. Lastly I'll say this, Shakespeare was great for among many things being able to write a play that was commissioned by the Queen of England, but that was equally enjoyed by both peasants and nobles. That takes talent. Wrapping up your oh so clever point in an enigma is something that I believe many authors do in order to make themselves look clever. If they really had something to say, moreover to teach the world why would they wrap it up in riddles?