Citizen Kane is one of the best films ever made. The Welles/Mankiewicz script, which won an Academy Award, weaves the story around flashbacks, present day, and, as a result, gives a glimpse of the future. The actual script is as detailed as any literary work, not simply a collection of shots and dialogue.
The other thing that strikes me every time I watch Kane is the photography, which also won an Oscar. There is no wasted space in any frame and I especially like the use of long-focus shots to bring background action into play. The screenplay and long-focus photography make the movie’s pivotal scene a wonder to behold. As his mother signs him away in the foreground, young Charlie Kane sleds in the background. Of course, at the movie’s end we realize his last word, “Rosebud,” was the name of his sled. This great man, for all his achievements, all his wealth and all his power, could never overcome the trauma of that day. He spent his life trying to acquire people and things, trying to soothe the ache of abandonment he suffered on that cold Colorado morning. The life story of Kane is, ironically, a story of loss.