February 3: A "Citizen Kane" Afternoon

Pretty soon, I have to go teach Citizen Kane to my students.  It's a difficult film to get young people excited about.  They aren't really into trying to put together the puzzle of Charles Foster Kane.  They aren't amazed by the cinematography or the editing.  They don't really get how groundbreaking Orson Welles really was.

It's my job to somehow bring them around at least a little bit.  Of course, my whole take on Kane is that it's about one man's lifelong quest for love.  That's usually where I start the discussion.  I stand in front of the classroom and say something like, "What the f*&k is this movie about?"  It's usually gets my students' attentions.

I wish I could spend more time on Kane in a semester, but I think the students would string me up by my thumbs and beat me with a sled.  So, we only spend a little over a week in the universe of Orson.  I suppose that's enough to give these young whippersnappers a taste of the greatest film ever made.

Saint Marty will close with one final word:  "Rosebud."

This is not the greatest movie ever made...