This is a different short film review.
Mank is a 2020 biographical drama film directed by David Fincher and starring Gary Oldman.
The story introduces Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s by telling the story of Hollywood filmmaker and screenwriter Herman J. Events and environments with related characters.
The script for Mank was written in the 1990s by the director's father, Jack Fincher, but David Fincher's filming took place years after his death in 2003. In order to better interpret this film, I quickly found out and watched "Citizen Kane", which had been covered in dust for many years.
Citizen Kane is an epoch-making film written, directed and starred by the legendary Orson Welles and Mank in 1941.
I decided to watch it more than a decade ago when I heard about the film and the acclaim it received, but at the beginning of the film, a newsreel about Kane's life after the death of newspaper mogul Kane, made me think it was It will be a grand and great big-time film, so that I, who had little knowledge at the time and had no confidence to appreciate it, immediately put it on the shelf until the time is right in the future.
At this time, although I still feel that my knowledge is not deep, in order to understand "Mank", I think it is about time to miss. After watching "Citizen Kane", although I can agree with the praise it received for the epoch-making influence of film shooting technology in the context of 1941, I am deeply disappointed. The great film of the era, but a film that describes a small individual, is not worth waiting for more than ten years for it.
Citizen Kane is a biographical film about the fictional character Kane, by trying to unravel the secret of the protagonist's only one-word last words before his death, and through several different characters' non-sequential accounts of different stages of the protagonist's life, Using the novel narrative and shooting methods at the time, he took the audience like a puzzle to outline the outline of this person's life.
"Mank" also adopts a similar presentation method, with Mank himself writing Citizen Kane's script as the main line. Through Mank's recollection of the relevant paragraphs of the script, the different parts of the puzzle are also presented to the audience in black and white non-sequentially. . But this film is not exactly a biography of the screenwriter Mank, but is interspersed with "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", introducing the Hollywood of that era, the giants and the character prototypes of "Citizen Kane" related to Mank. story.
The protagonist of "Citizen Kane", Kane, is a simple Midwestern farm child entrusted by his mother to a Wall Street banker. As an adult, he inherited a huge inheritance from the family's gold mine, but he devoted himself to the newspaper industry with enthusiasm. Created a media empire that was unrecognizable for a while, but with the turning point of career and political peak, it ended in a bleak night, and died alone in his unfinished luxury manor.
"Mank" introduces in Mank's memories, Kane's character prototype William Randolph Hearst (William Randolph Hearst), the American newspaper tycoon and entrepreneur, met in a chance encounter on a movie set, and because of Hearst Sturt appreciates Mank and is often able to attend important seats at the Hearst family banquets.
In "Citizen Kane", the turning point of Kane's life comes when Kane is running for governor when his opponent discloses his affair with Ladies opera singer Susan Alexander, and then he and the former The president's niece's ex-wife divorced and quickly married Susan, ending her political career and slowly disintegrating her media empire.
"Munk" tells about the prototype of Mank and Susan, the intimate relationship of actress Marion Davies, and the whole story of how she met her financier and lover Hearst through her connection. The Hirst that Manke knew was indeed the same as his Kane, who published the caliber of manipulating politics through newspapers, but his Kane experience of being overthrown by political opponents came from Hirst's instruction to use the media and films to bring them down. The experiences of the political opponents opposed.
In Citizen Kane, Susan is a failed opera singer who became a famous opera singer simply because Kane spent money and capitalized on the popularity of her newspapers, although her love for Kane may be genuine. Therefore, the acting career of Susan's prototype Marion has also been criticized accordingly.
In "Mank", through Mank's narration and experience, an attempt is made to justify Marion's name, showing that in fact she is not only a powerful actress, but also Hearst's loving and righteous mistress. When Hearst went bankrupt, not only He lent millions of dollars to help, and never gave up, and personally persuaded Manke to give up the creation of the script for "Citizen Kane", so as not to slander Hearst.
In "Citizen Kane", Kane has a bleak night scene, Susan left him, his adoptive father spurned him, his best friend turned against each other, almost lost all his lifelong pursuits, and died in his unfinished palace, leaving only no one. One word understood is the final last word.
Although Hirst in "Mank" had already gone through a career turning point when "Citizen Kane" was completed, he still had considerable influence in the media industry and Hollywood, driving different people with different reasons and purposes to persuade Mank. Gram abandoned the script, and in reality banned his own newspaper from publishing promotions and advertisements related to the film.
Because of resistance from the media, Hollywood and theaters, Citizen Kane's premiere failed, and it was not recognized until postwar Europe, when its producer, director and star Orson had left Hollywood to develop in Europe. own business.
Mank in "Mank" realized when the script was about to end that it would be the best work of his life, so he did not hesitate to tear up the contract and fought hard for the co-authorship of the script with Orson, which was finally released in the film. In 2008, he and Orson jointly won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, but the cooperation with Orson broke down. They did not accept the award on the same stage, nor did they work together again.
"Citizen Kane" tells the story of a fictitious and tiny individual with a small heart, who has a great appearance but has been obsessed with pursuing a dream that has been deprived since childhood.
"Mank" reflects the Hollywood of the Great Depression, and how the media got involved in political life, by describing the writing experience of a lifelong absurd screenwriter and finally awakening to the only thing he can grasp. The original character is named.
Although neither is a great big time movie, both films tell the story of an individual person under the big time, not one tenth, nor one inch less. However, friends, these stories are just the narration of the film, don't believe it easily.
Neither was a great movie about great ages. One is about a man - Mank, just like the other one made inside this one, which was about another man - Kane; nothing more, and nothing less. Also, my friend, it's only what the pictures tell; never truly believe it.
Official Account [New York Gnome to see the world] Original text: Citizen Kane, screenwriter Manke
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