Citizen Kane 1941.
Citizen Kane is a documentary film made by Orson Welles in 1940. The film opens with a newspaper tycoon dying alone in his mansion and follows his extraordinary life through the words “rosebud”.
In the film “Citizen Kane”, the information flows through the reporter Thompson. As this reporter interviews Kane’s friends, cooperators, and ex-wife, the causality and relationships between characters are gradually unfolded. The narration in this film is unrestricted. we know more information than any character in the film. We know the causes and effects of the story. At the beginning part, our sight along with the camera over the words “No Trespassing” and iron fence goes into Kane’s castle. We watched Kane’s death, his last words “Rosebud”, and the scene crystal ball falling down from his hand. Characters in the film may only know one side of Kane’s life, but with unrestricted narration, we the audience know different versions of Kane’s life story.
The stories recounted by other characters about Mr. Kain are reflective of their own opinion and how they are. For example, Thompson visits Leland who used to be Kane’s good friend. Leland describes Kane as a person lived by his power and a poor newspaperman. From Leland’s narration, we know Kane’s unhappy marriages. It also reflects Leland’s disagreement with Kane’s operation principle in his career and disappointment towards Kane life attitude. Another example is Susan who used to be the wife and lover of Kane. When the reporter found Susan, he was rejected to have an interview. Along with her telling, we gradually know that she has suffered from marriage. In some sense, she hates Kane.
The narrations of those characters reveal who Mr’Kain is. Their understanding of what kind of person Kane is is just from their own perspective, not a comprehensive and overall version of Kane. Each character has different experiences and interactions with Kane. Their recounts of Kane are largely affected by personal emotions.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0033467/
https://www.warnerbros.com/citizen-kane
https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/a-viewers-companion-to-citizen-kane