Citizen Kane/Godfather/Siddhartha Essay

2675 Words11 Pages
Part 1 1. The ‘Kane and window’ stills: Firstly, the use of Gregg Toland’s deep focus method, in which every plane in the frame is in focus, therefore not limiting the spectator’s gaze to anything in particular, mimics the panoptic narrative form of the film. As Kane’s mother and Thatcher look-on as he plays in the snow, about to make a life-changing decision, the falling snow mimics that of the shot right before his death. The use of blocking echoes the innocence of the ambivalent boy, the decision of his mother as she holds onto the window and Thatcher taking up the whole frame in his viewing of all this (this is his flashback after all). The boy remains in the center of the frame to designate his position to the scene. Having Kane’s mother signing away her son whilst he plays in the snow in the background indicates the loss of his childhood in a concise moment. The shattered snow globe from the opening scene inconsecutively foreshadowed this as an important moment in the making of Kane’s character. The snow links his lonely death to the birth of his narcissistic identity at the hands of his mother. The ‘Kane and Doorway’ stills: Citizen Kane’s method of fluctuating points-of-view is demonstrated perfectly in these stills. This is not only to mean of those actually narrating, but of Kane’s own subjective point of view as well. His silhouette in the doorway is an indication of his framed identity, more specifically the differently decorated archways that leads the gaze to this image of Kane is symbolic of how people perceive him through different lenses. Moreover, with the snow globe in his pocket, this journey down the hallway reveals that he actually has emotions. His work staff does not stand with him, but surround him whilst taking in this new side of him. He is surrounded yet completely alone with the world’s multiple visions of him. This demonstrates
Open Document