The film, Citizen Kane, is about a man whose life is based on his wealth and fame. There are many film techniques used to show Charles Foster Kane's dominance, and most importantly his relationships. Starting with his childhood, Charles was a very spoiled kid. He whined until he got what he wanted. At a young age, Charles was adopted away from his family, so, he could go to the city and become a wealthy man. Due to this situation, he really never developed a strong relationship with his parents, particularly his father. The film uses wonderful technique to illustrate the absent relationship between Charles Kane and Mr. Kane.
There are two scenes, back to back, that depict Charles and his father's relationship. In the first scene, Mr. Kane is discussing with Charles" foster father about Charles and what they plan to do with him in the future. This scene happens to be shot in deep focus, which allows you to vividly capture the composition of the background. In the background, Charles is playing out in the snow, and he appears to be a great distance from his father. This is very significant because it shows that there is no connection between what Mr. Kane is doing and what Charles is doing. Also, this is one of the only real shots with both of these characters in it, and the camera makes it appear that they are a great distance from one another. This proves that there is not much of a relationship between these two characters.
There is another scene similar to the previous shot, which further explains Charles" relationship with his father. In this shot, Mrs. Kane is telling Charles, who has been sledding outside, that he needs to go with his foster father so he can get on with his life. Charles begins to whine and pout about the circumstances, and he asks if she is going to come along with him. This is important because he doesn't want to leave his mother, however, it obviously doesn't bother him that he will be leaving his father behind.
