Citizen Kane -- the man who had everything he never wanted

We finished viewing this classic just yesterday -- what a fascinating movie!
The movie follows the story of a lonely man, showing us his life through the accounts of people who knew him.

What I find fascinating is how there are links to his childhood in various areas. It was hinted that Kane was abused by his father, which was why his mother sent him away. As the story progresses, you observe instances of Kane abusing others -- his wives, his friends, and his power and money.

I think the abuse by his father had deeper impact, also. For instance, Kane always seemed to feel he had to prove himself. Perhaps he was still afraid that if he wasn't good enough he'd be beaten somehow. Thus the obsessive collection of various objects by which he felt he could prove his wealth; his finishing the article that was started by Leland, even though it spoke negatively of his wife (proving his honesty); the opera house, which Susan Alexander really didn't want. Building Xanadu in an attempt to prove his power and his wealth.

Even deeper is Kane's need for love, although he doesn't seem to have any to give -- "love on his own terms." Unloved as a child, he tried to gain the love of the masses.

Finally, "Rosebud". His dying word shows just how deep his connection to his childhood is, that the last thing he says refers to the sled he was playing with the day he left his parents.

It's also very interesting to note that when Susan Alexander leaves him, he also says "Rosebud". The snowglobe reminds him of his childhood home -- something else that he's lost forever.

My final observation: Kane was always alone. No matter how many people were around, or how much stuff he had, it couldn't fill his loneliness. I don't think he really wanted any of the statues. When the camera is panning over all of his stuff, most still in boxes, I at first thought it was a city. It's like Kane was the leader of a city with no people.
He had the power, but it wasn't worth a thing -- there was nobody there to listen.

All Quiet on the Western Front -- Ending

Today, we finished watching 'All Quiet on the Western Front'. Yesterday, we watched the part in which Paul is injured, then sent on leave.

When Paul is on leave, he sees the teacher who first convinced himself and his friends to enlist. He talks to the class, but when he realizes that he's just not going to get them to understand, he leaves, slamming the door behind him. Considering that doors and windows have been a motif through the whole movie, I find this to be quite significant. I feel that he is closing the door on his old life, maybe even closing the door on his life, period. In any case, it shows that he truly can't go back home now, because it no longer feels like home to him.

That ties in to something I got from the very end of the movie. Having gone on leave, Paul finds that he simply can't live at home any more. Back in the war, Kat is the only person he really feels is family to him.
When Kat dies, Paul essentially loses the one person he still feels a connection with at all. In the last scene, he sees a butterfly; this is not only a reference to the butterfly collection at his home, but it's also the one speck of beauty in the bleak world of war, particularly in Paul's world. Just as he's about to reach the one thing he feels a connection to, he is shot dead by a sniper. I see this as meaning one of two things: The butterfly was there for the purpose of freeing him from the world that has nothing left for him. Or, the sadder version is that he never reaches the one spot of beauty left in his life.

"All Quiet on the Western Front" day 1

A very intriguing movie so far. In a way, it seems the black-and-white adds to the film, as the lack of color means that lighting and camera effects are more noticeable. The whole scene with the teacher really gave me chills, the way the teacher was so frighteningly enthusiastic about convincing the boys to enlist.
The way the books and papers were strewn across the floor afterward make me think that they were leaving their lives behind, going somewhere that would change them forever.