Citizen Kane

Introduction

Orson Welles employs a distinct technical and visual style, and the result is considered to be one of the greatest cinematic masterpieces of all time. In the years following its 1941 release, Citizen Kane was praised for its style, its diversion from conventional cinematic norms, and its unique mode of storytelling. The American Film Institute polled around 1,500 film professionals in 1998 and in 2008 and found that Citizen Kane consistently ranked at the top of their “100 Years… 100 Movies” list. Citizen Kane is about the life and death of a prominent newspaper mogul, Charles Foster Kane; his story is told through the words of those closest to him (his father figure, Walter Parks Thatcher; his manger, Mr. Bernstein; his friend/colleague, Jedediah Leland; and his second wife, Susan Alexander Kane).

One of the most prominent themes of Citizen Kane is this idea that one can never truly understand a person once they’ve died. We learn about Kane’s life through the memories and (often contradictory) opinions of other people, but audiences miss out on a key perspective that would further enrich our understanding of Kane’s life, and that is the words of Kane himself. There are no diary entries from Kane’s point of view, no records of how he perceived himself and the world. The testimonies of Thatcher, Bernstein, and Susan Alexander could be far from the truth, but audiences will never know. 

This fallibility of memory contributes significantly to the film’s melodramatic characteristics because of the way it allows audiences to have access to several different emotional perspectives, all while contemplating the truth. It heightens the emotional response of both the audience and the characters in the film.

Moreover, we can see elements of melodrama through Citizen Kane’s use of cinematography and a strong sense of emotionalism.

Cinematography— Montage and Distortion

From a technical standpoint, Welles’ use of montage, shot distortion, and deep focus contribute to the melodrama of Citizen Kane. Montage as a film technique often allows the director to shorten the distances between moments in space and time, and we clearly see that in Citizen Kane. Audiences become familiar with montage as it is used to show glimpses of Kane’s past. However, as previously mentioned, these glimpses do not provide us with the full truth and thus infuse Citizen Kane with a heightened sense of drama.

Similarly, we can observe the use of shot distortion in the last scenes of the film where Kane is trashing Susan Alexander’s room at the Xanadu estate as a means of intensified melodrama. The scene starts calmly as Kane moves through the room; however, the camera is placed at a low angle to make it seem as if Kane towers over the space. As he begins to wreck the room, Kane’s movements are stiff and unnatural. These movements show his powerlessness in his old age and his inability to make Susan Alexander stay with him, which is juxtaposed by his large physical presence in the shots of this scene.

Emotionalism

James Brooks notes, in The Melodramatic Imagination, that melodramatic works tend to have an “indulgence of strong emotionalism” (11-12). In the scene from Kane’s childhood, where his parents are discussing the terms of sending young Kane away to live with Thatcher, we see an extreme juxtaposition of emotions. Kane’s father is clearly very against sending his son away, while Kane’s mother and Thatcher are cold and unaffected. When they tell Kane that he’s going away, his father tries to comfort him by listing all the new places he’ll see while his mother stands idly by.

Additionally, this camera work in this scene heightens the melodrama of the film. While the adults are having this serious conversation, Welles implements the use of deep focus to show a young Kane playing in the background. Welles is trying to draw audience attention to Kane in the background and the adults in the foreground in order to show alternate points of view and to introduce conflict to the film. Ultimately, this deep focus shot allows us to sympathize more with young Kane, sets us up to sympathize with him throughout the rest of the film, and thematically connects Kane’s childhood to his adult life. 

Double Suicide

Double Suicide

Double Suicide (Shinjû ten no Amijima), originated as a puppet drama written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon in 1721 and was met with much success. The play was said to be based off of real life events that had happened the previous year. Double Suicide is the story of a paper merchant who forsakes his family for the love of a courtesan. Their forbidden love is wrought with heartbreak and contradictions that eventually end in death. The director Masahiro Shinoda beautifully translated the story from the play into a melodramatic film that was created in 1969. The characters Jihei and Koharu both face ethical and moral dilemmas which are enhanced by the overwhelming emotions and violence in the film.

Ninjō and Giri

One of the main themes of the film is the battle between ninjō (emotions) and giri (duty to society). Jihei's battle is between the responsibility he has for his family and business (giri) against the love he holds for Koharu (ninjō). In the pursuit of his love, he loses his family, and the failure to fulfil his duties as husband and father pushes him toward suicide. Koharu experiences a battle of her own between her duties as a courtesan and her love for Jihei. However, she also faces another element - her duty to Osan (Jihei's wife) who requests for Koharu to leave Jihei and her family alone, and which presents itself as a form of giri. They both are unsuccessful in fulfilling their societal responsibilities and so choose suicide as the release from all duty.

In addition to the battles present for each character, there is an overarching ethical dilemma. The question that is presented is: Should you leave your family for a courtesan? As the story goes, the answer is 'no'. Ninjō, in the presence of giri, is not possible unless one wishes for the story to end in death.

The Duality of Good and Evil -- The Wife and the Courtesan

Osan, no doubt, presents as an ‘ideal wife’ and is morally correct throughout the film. In spite of her husband’s infidelity and lack of attention, she does her best to raise the kids and operate the business. She goes as far as to defend Jihei in front of her parents when he says he has forgotten about Koharu. She is also the moral opposite of Koharu, who, in stealing away someone’s husband and plotting suicide with them, attempts to save both from taking their lives. Even as a scorned wife, she feels duty to save the life of her husband’s lover.

The contradiction between good and evil confuses itself in the film and overturns the traditional social structure. Osan, because she is married, and to a business owner, should have social standing and power above Koharu. However, Osan finds herself begging Koharu to leave Jihei alone. The act of a proper wife begging to the ‘lowly’ courtesan is backward and offers a distorted view of the powers of love and duty. Love, disguising itself as being the stronger of the two, finds a way for Jihei and Koharu to come together and consummate their love. That may have been their initial goal, to be together, but in the end, the morally impure (Jihei and Koharu), sacrifice themselves for the failure in duty to the morally intact (Osan).

This duality is augmented by the fact that Osan and Koharu are played by the same actress. They are two versions of the same dilemma, one being pure and the other being immoral.

Emotions, Violence, and Setting

The film artistically lacks non-diegetic music and sound, but does include background music at particularly melodramatic points. The final scene, especially, is imbued with deep bells tolls and disconcerting, high-pitched music. The music is played with still shots of Koharu’s death as viewers see the terror on her face and the viciousness on Jihei’s. The scene is particularly horrific, not only because of their expressions, but also because of the blood on Koharu’s face and the presence of the kurogo. The kurogo provide all the tools for Jihei to orchestrate his own suicide. This preparedness speaks to the outcome of the battle between ninjō and giri where the only conclusion is death. This conclusion is also foreshadowed in the previous scene where both character consummate their love in a graveyard, a place of death.

Another scene where emotions are magnified is the scene after Osan is dragged away by her father. Jihei’s scream is not accented with any music; the scream is pure and clear. Jihei is centered in the middle of the screen and the audience is focused only on him. The moment non-diegetic music enters the scene is during a slow motion of Jihei destroying the house. The music is direct and disjointed and the fluttering papers only heightens the melodrama. By destroying the house, the viewer knows that giri has failed, and the family setting can no longer exist. The kurogo, again, are present, disrobing Jihei so that he can destroy the house, then cleaning the destruction and preparing the film for the next scene.  

Floating Clouds (Film)- Blog 1

Floating Clouds (Film) by Naruse Mikiyo

Summary

Floating Clouds (Ukigumo) by Naruse Mikiyo follows the post-World War story of Koda Yukiko, a woman who had just returned to Japan after her work in French Indochina during the war period. During her time in French Indochina, Yukiko found herself in love with Tomioka Kengo, a man who was involved with the work she was doing. Despite being married and having a wife, Kengo reciprocates Yukiko’s love and the two ends up having an affair in Da Lat. However, upon both the couple’s return to Japan, Kengo admits to Yukiko that he cannot leave his wife and that his relationship with Yukiko can no longer go on any further, thus leaving Yukiko in a devastated condition, struggling to find stability and her sense of belonging in Japan. Through seeking to find her purpose once again, Yukiko encounters many men who trick her into false hopes and feelings. Her determination to rekindle the relationship with Kengo leads to a serious of unfortunate events that involve morally unjust actions ranging from crime to murder. With various encounters with people, Kengo becomes the cause of the murder of Osei, another woman he had an affair with, due to provoking jealously towards the husband of Osei. Still, with self-reflection and the admitting of their guilt, the couple (Yukiko and Kengo) insisted on striving through life even if that requires continuing with their morally unjust actions (with one another knowing what they have each been up to), eventually reaching a point where Kengo has found himself a job in an island far away from Tokyo called Yaku and decides to move with Yukiko. As the couple finds themselves in a new home, a path of destruction awaits. Yukiko falls terminally ill, dies, and leaves Kengo alone as a lifeless soul drifting without aim.

Themes

The major theme of this film is the post-war tragedy of life in Japan. It focuses on isolation, love, hatred, and the instabilities of life. The film captures forbidden romance through morals. The couple Yukiko and Kengo are both intertwined in a forbidden romance as their affair is against righteous morals.    

Postwar tragedy

As the main couple (Yukiko and Kengo) return to Japan from their work overseas, Japan has entered a state of depression and is trying to recover from their economic losses which resulted in a societal downturn. The theme of postwar tragedy is depicted through victimization that occurs throughout the movie, with the main victim being Yukiko. Almost at every moment a character was being victimized in a way. People are unemployed, traumatized, and unsatisfied with their life. There is a longing for a so-called paradise that each character dreams of. For instance, Yukiko is always recalling her time with Kengo in Da Lat and this is shown through many visual flashbacks. Naruse successfully creates an evocation of a postwar mood that portrays how each character is chained to a harsh reality that they are not able to flee from.  

Forbidden Love

As mentioned in the summary, both the two main characters Yukiko and Kengo are both in a morally wrong relationship. The forbidden love in this film is applicable to many characters in the film-not limited to only Yukiko and Kengo. For instance, Osei, who gets murdered by her husband, unlawfully cheats on her husband to get together with Kengo. At that moment, not only Yukiko and Kengo were the only ones fixed upon the idea of forbidden love, but also Osei, since she has gotten sexually involved with Kengo. This particular theme gets emphasized during scenes where Kengo would reiterate how he felt that he should not rekindle the relationship with Yukiko (or anyone) as he self-reminds himself that he is married and his wife is in a state of illness.

Traumatic Death(s)

Similar to many other melodramatic films, there is a character that suffers from an inevitable illness, in this case tuberculosis, whom eventually dies. In Floating Clouds, Yukiko makes a repetitive point about herself feeling lonely, wanting to die.

There is irony upon Yukiko’s deathbed. This is because despite her continuously bringing up the topic of wanting to die, she would convey every time the thought that she desired to die with Kengo. Within the last few moments of her life, Yukiko is all alone in the house in Yaku as heavy rain pours outside, giving away a bleak mood. She struggles to do things by herself alone and decides to not call for help even though she has been portrayed as a dependent character throughout the whole story. Dying alone evokes a strong sense of isolation and grim, which plays into the melodrama category of Floating Clouds.

Cinematography and aesthetics play a big role towards the melodrama aspect of the film. For example, in the last scene (final ten minutes), the flickering light from the lamp/light bulb acts as a signal for the fleeting life and deteriorating health of Yukiko. This light was first shown flickering, but later on loses its glow, thus foreshadowing how death is soon to approach Yukiko. Not to mention the heavy rain in the setting that sets a bleak atmosphere.

When Kengo brings the light from the lamp down towards Yukiko’s face, the camera zooms in and focuses on her brightly lit face from the light that is ironically contrasted with the paleness from her sickness. There is also a closeness of shot taken here. This evokes a hyperbolic effect as there is a strong force being driven towards death. In addition, the flashback scene of Yukiko in her vivid days in Da Lat when she and Kengo were together contributes to the melodramatics of the film. The melodrama within this scene revolves around how Kengo who once selfishly took everything for granted to his advantage has finally come to a realization that he is now not only losing the people and things he values but also unable to retrieve them. Resulting in a figure that portrays floating clouds that will drift away without a purpose.

Quotes that relate to melodrama:

“I am only a memory. And memories disappear fast…” Yukiko (1:04:46)

The facial expression and closeness of shot in this scene clearly emphasizes how much Yukiko is looking down and keeping in her depressing emotions. Her tone of voice whilst saying the lines is soft and fleeting, exaggerating the very little hope that Yukiko’s remaining life offers and her lowered determination to grasp a better life. This reflects the historical aspect of Japan in their post-war days where most people are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty (for example, being unemployed similar to Yukiko) and chained to their origins, meaning that there is not much room to struggle for. Alienation exists and affects people negatively, contributing to a melancholic atmosphere. In terms of film/aesthetic analysis, there is a buildup of dramatic background music that increases in volume that leads up to Yukiko’s cry.

“You may want to die? I don’t” Kengo (1:30:57)

“You don’t care about me?” Yukiko (1:31:03)

In a cultural perspective, this scene shows the gap between gender dynamics of men and women, with men (Kengo) being superior towards women (Yukiko).

Whilst in the middle of this life and death talk, Kengo displays signs of being unconcerned towards Yukiko, making her leave the room saying that she will die by herself. Kengo continues to sit still and do nothing as he watches Yukiko leave the room, portraying a cold personality through masking his emotions to a high extent when compared to the whole movie. The development of his callousness is shown through his perspective within the next few seconds as he spots and stares at a couple fighting on the balcony- showing the instability of relationships of which Kengo relates to his past experiences with the fights he has had with Yukiko.

Touchy hand gestures when Yukiko was grabbing onto Kengo’s hand-uneasy atmosphere due to Kengo allowing her hand to slip off forcefully. Kengo seen as superior towards Yukiko with the ability to make decisions such as whether to take Yukiko with him to Yaku. At this point, Kengo is shaped as a stable, independent figure, whereas Yukiko is being dependent.

Other notes:

Meaning behind the film’s title “Floating Clouds”. According to Catherine Russell, the term floating clouds is a metaphor for living an “aimless life” (Russell 277), similar to that of clouds that slowly drift away with the wind in which every direction they are blown. This is conveyed through Yukiko’s tragic post-war life as well as Kengo’s foreshadowed life as Yukiko dies in the final scene.

With reference to an external source “Double Suicide”, a similar subtle melodramatic scene occurs at minute 57:20 where unnamed children are introduced into the frame at a scene where Yukiko confronts Osei about both of them cheating on their partners.

We discussed about this during class with Double Suicide where kids are a symbol of purity. The involvement of children in this scene serves as a reminder to the audience for the moral rights that exist in humans but are gradually fading away as we grow older. In Double Suicide, the children are witnessing the scene where their mother Osan gets taken away by their grandfather, with their father Jihei not being able to act upon the spot due to admitting his wrongdoings. The angle of the shot is taken in a close-up manner where the viewers are drawn to focus on the children’s widely opened eyes of curiosity, yet shock. Similarly, this type of cinematography is created in Floating Clouds where a boy on his bicycle stops by and peers into Kengo’s place to find himself questioned by Yukiko.

Yukiko questions about the whereabouts of Kengo. Questions such as whether Kengo lives here, the time he comes home, etc. were given innocent responses such as “I’m not sure” which exemplifies the gap between generations in the sense that there are barriers that separate the children from their understanding on the complexities of life. This further emphasizes the morally wrongdoings of both women which is similar to one of the melodramatic scenes in Double Suicide. In short, the children are introduced to the scene in order to juxtapose the different morals that different generations hold.