Citizen Kane

As Charles Foster Kane (Orson Welles) dies, his last word is "Rosebud." Reporter Jerry Thompson is sent to find out who Kane really was and what Rosebud means. He meets with five different people who were important in Kane's life -- from the man who raised Kane to his second wife -- to try to understand the small mystery of Kane's last word and the larger mystery of the man who was capable of both integrity and corruption, and who seemed to have no sense of peace or happiness. Thompson delves into Kane's decision to buy a newspaper and its rise to an influential chain; his marriage to the niece of a president and his own ambition for public office; his affair with an aspiring opera singer. While the characters never reveal the meaning of "Rosebud," the viewer is permitted to solve that mystery. But the answer only proves that there are never any simple answers to the complexity of the human spirit.