Un mogul media moare singur in resedinta sa super-luxoasa. Jurnalistii, fostii sai colegi de breasla, incearca sa afle chintesenta vietii acestuia pornind de la ultimul cuvant rostit pe patul de moarte "rosebud" (boboc de trandafir). Cum va reusi dl. Thomson sa se achite de aceasta sarcina depinde de povestile din viata cetateanului Kane, spuse de cei care au fost o parte importanta sau neglijabila din magnifica sa viata. Un film vizionar pentru anul 1941, in care Orson Welles isi pune amprenta atat ca regizor, cat si ca actor.

"Este o transpunere patrunzatoare a lumii moderne, a opticii insolite si a deformarii istoriei. Acest om nu mai are o viata proprie, viata sa apartine publicului, ziarelor, fotografiilor, de pe prima pagina, interviurilor. Omul este orgolios, brutal, rigid si sfidator. Tot acest film este un strigat in care exista multa disperare." - Maurice Bardeche, Robert Brasillach - 1954 (Histoire du cinema)

Din 1962, sondajele criticiile de specialitate publicate de revista Sight & Sound au plasat Citizen Kane, remarcabilul film de debut al lui Orson Welles, in varful topului celor mai bune pelicule realizate vreodata. In 1998, American Film Institute l-a declarat cel mai bun film al tuturor timpurilor. De asemenea, i-au fost conferite premii la categoria cel mai bun film de catre New York Film Critics Circle si National Board of Review si i-a fost decernat un Oscar pentru scenariu. Legenda Cetateanului Kane a fost in parte alimentata de faptul ca Welles avea doar 24 de ani in momentul realizarii filmului, precum si de similitudinile evidente dintre personajul principal si magnatul presei William Randolph Hearst. Acesta s-a luptat din rasputeri sa opreasca turnarea filmului, iar apoi nereusind sa-i impiedice difuzarea, a incercat sa-l discrediteze. Din multe puncte de vedere, Cetateanul Kane ramane o opera de un interes si o importanta majora.

Filmul relateaza o poveste extraordinara: nascut in saracie, Charles Foster Kane (stralucit interpretat de insusi Welles) se imbogateste subit datorita unei mine de aur lasate mostenire mamei sale. Inca din tinerete, incepe sa puna bazele unui imperiu de presa si de radio, casatorindu-se in cele din urma cu nepoata unui presedinte american si candidand la postul de guvernator. Insa ambitiile sale de putere nu-I duc nicaieri. Tot mai alienat, Kane devine abuziv cu femeile din viata lui, intai cu sotia, apoi cu amanta sa. Moare, aproape singur, in castelul sau neterminat, visand la simplitatea propriei copilarii. Inscriindu-se in traditia populista a New Deal-ului, Cetateanul Kane face apologia acelei viziuni tipic americane care sustine ca banii nu aduc fericirea, dar intr-o maniera extrem de prozaica, aproape dickensiana.

In mod semnificativ, filmul incepe cu moartea lui Kane si cu ultimul cuvant enigmatic rostit de acesta: Rosebud. Un grup de reporteri intreprinzatori incearca sa descopere intelesul acestui cuvant interogand mai multe cunostinte de-ale lui Kane. Filmul este povestit in flashbackuri, iar fiecare personaj iI cunoaste pe Kane doar dintr-o anumita perspectiva. Complexitatea narativa a peliculei, care nu incalca niciodata regulile hollywoodiene clasice privind continuitatea si cauzalitatea, reprezinta un remarcabil tur de forta, acesta flind in mare parte si motivul pentru care criticul Pauline Kael afirma ca adevaratul geniu al filmului nu s-ar datora copilului-minune Welles, ci scenaristului Herman J. Mankiewicz.

Marea forta a filmului insa rezida in imaginea sa: Gregg Toland a dezvoltat o tehnica bazata pe adancimea campului vizual, in care prim-planul extrem de apropiat, planul mediu, dar si fundalul sunt vizibile simultan, permitand astfel privirii sa se concentreze asupra oricarei parti a imaginii. Tehnica a fost criticata in epoca, pe motiv ca atragea atentia asupra ei insai, tradand astfel codurile cinematografiei hollywoodiene clasice, care sustineau ca imaginea buna este cea care nu se centreaza asupra sa. Oricum, imaginile din Citizen Kane raman surprinzatoare si memorabile. n centrul peliculei se afl unul dintre actorii i regizorii emblematici ai cinematografiei americane: Orson Welles. Acesta a devenit faimos pe plan naional dup emisiunea radio din 30 octombrie 1938, n care a lecturat Rzboiul lumilor al lui H. G. Wells, provocnd panic printre asculttori. Actorul atrgea atenia n acel moment asupra impactului pe care mass-media l are asupra publicului larg. De altfel, n film, Welles (care semneaz i regia, i scenariul) a ntruchipat pe unul dintre cei mai puternici magnai de pres din Statele Unite ale Americii: Charles Foster Kane. O vreme s-a considerat c la baza personajului principal ar fi stat viaa magnatului american William Randolph Hearst; s-a observat apoi c, n construcia rolului, erau destul de multe elemente din biografia regizorului...

The Science of Sleep (French: La Science des rves, literally The Science of Dreams) is a 2006 surrealistic science fantasy comedy film written and directed by Michel Gondry. The film stars Gael Garca Bernal, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Miou-Miou, and Alain Chabat. The film stems from a bed-time story that was written by Sam Mounier,[3][4] then-10-year-old. Stphane Miroux is a man whose vivid dreams and imagination often interfere with his ability to interact with reality. He is coaxed back to his childhood home after his divorced father passes away and his mother, Christine, finds him a job in a calendar printing company in France. His mother implies the position is a creative role, and he prepares colourful drawings, each showing a disaster, for his "disasterology" calendar. However, nobody appreciates his talents and it transpires that his mother had led him on - the real vacancy is for nothing more than mundane typesetting work. While leaving his apartment to go to work one day, Stphane injures his hand helping his new neighbor move a piano into her apartment. The new neighbor, Stphanie, invites Stphane into her apartment (unaware that he lives next door) where her friend Zo tends to his wound. Stphane initially forms an attraction to Zo, though he suspects it is instead Stphanie who likes him.

Stphane realizes that Stphanie, like him, is creative and artistic. They plan a project for use in a short animated film. Following the advice of Guy, Stphane's sex-obsessed co-worker, Stphane pretends that he isn't Stphanie's neighbor, pretending to leave the building when he leaves her apartment. That night, when he is sleepwalking he writes a confusing note to Stphanie that asks for Zo's phone number. Stphane realizes his mistake upon waking and retrieves the letter with a coat hanger, unaware that Stphanie has already read it.

Surrealistic and naturalistic elements begin to overlap, and the viewer is often uncertain of which portions constitute reality and which are merely dreams. One such sequence, in which Stphane dreams his hands become absurdly giant, was inspired by a recurring nightmare director Michel Gondry had as a child.[5] As this line gradually becomes more blurred, Stphane becomes more enamoured with Stphanie the more he spends time with her and shares his many inventions with her, such as the "one-second time machine," a device that can go either forward or backward in time by only one second. Stphane's dreams encroach on his waking life as he tries to win Stphanie's heart and misses time at work. He breaks into her apartment, taking her stuffed toy horse, and implants a mechanism inside of it that will make it gallop. While putting it back into her apartment, Stphanie arrives and catches him, demanding he leaves and becoming more upset with him. Embarrassed and heartbroken, Stphane retreats to his own apartment where he receives a call from Stphanie, who apologizes and thanks him for the gift she discovers: a galloping version of "Golden the Pony Boy," who she reveals was named after Stphane.

As the months go by, waking and dreaming become even more intermixed. To Stphane's surprise, the calendar manufacturer accepts his "Disastrology" idea and it becomes a great success. A party is thrown in his honour, but he becomes depressed and begins drinking excessively after he witnesses Stphanie dancing flirtatiously with another man. The next day, Stphane and Stphanie have a confrontation in their hallway when Stphane announces that he doesn't want to be Stphanie's friend any longer. Stphanie becomes very upset, offering Zo's phone number and reciting Stphane's note. Stphane, still unaware that Stphanie has read the note, assumes that they are connected through "Parallel Synchronized Randomness", a rare phenomenon he has examined in his dreams. Stphanie offers that they discuss their issues on a date, but on Stphane's walk to the caf to meet her, he has a frightful vision that she isn't there and she doesn't love him after all. He runs back to her apartment and bangs on her door, demanding that she stop torturing him; in actuality, she is indeed waiting for him at the caf. Stphane runs at her door, attempting to break it down, but winds up bashing his head and collapsing in the hall, where his mother eventually finds him bleeding. Tired of waiting, Stphanie returns home while Stphane, coaxed by his mother and her friend, decides to move back to Mexico.

Before leaving, Stphane's mother insists that he say goodbye to Stphanie. In his attempt to do so, he becomes extremely crass, making sexual and offensive jokes to her, and accusing her of never being able to finish something she starts. However, he reveals that he is truly interested in her because she's different from other people. As his antagonistic behavior pushes her to her breaking point, Stphanie asks Stphane to leave but he instead climbs into her bed and yells at her, before spotting two items on her bedside: his one-second time machine, and the finished boat they had planned to use in their animated film. Stphane falls asleep in Stphanie's bed. As she checks on him to see why he has become so quiet, she gently strokes his hair. The film closes with Stphane and Stphanie riding Golden the Pony Boy across a field before sailing off into the ocean's horizon in her white boat.