In Mr. Arkadin (1955), Welles returns to the same basic idea of Citizen Kane - exploring the mystery of a wealthy man's life - and re-shapes it into a thriller. Like most of Welles's directorial efforts, Mr. Arkadin had a tumultuous production history, and Welles lost control of the movie, resulting in the release of a version that differed from his original vision.
At least three different versions of the film exist, and I don't know which one I watched or how it differs from the other cuts. The version I watched is a complex, sometimes confusing narrative that wasn't always easy to follow, but thanks to Welles' filmmaking virtuosity and style, it proves a rewarding and fascinating experience.
Citizen Kane was a tragedy, charting the rise and fall of a powerful man by following an investigation into what he meant with his dying word. Mr. Arkadin is a thriller, and the revelation of his past isn't that Arkadin lost a beloved childhood sled but something more nefarious that I will not spoil here.
Mr. Arkadin gets its poignancy from Arkadin's relationship with his daughter. He loves her but is controlling, keeping her under close observation and having her followed by private detectives. They live in a baroque castle, and she refers to him as "The Ogre." One reasons he hires Guy is so he can keep this slick, charming man away. Much to his chagrin (and Lily's), Guy and Raina fall in love anyway.
The tragic nature of Arkadin is that he will do anything to keep his past hidden from Raina. He loves her more than anything, and the most important thing in the world to him is how she thinks of him. Anything, or anyone, that will make her think less of him must be eliminated.
Welles imbues the film with his directorial flourish. It's a good while into the movie before we meet Arkadin. Until then, he's only talked about and depicted by his possessions, including the castle and his private airplane, and this builds anticipation. When Guy finally meets him, it's during an elaborate, dizzying masquerade inside the castle, and the effect makes the film feel like Edgar Alan Poe's "Masque of the Red Death."
It's distorted, surreal, and borderline frightening, especially when we meet Arkadin, this massive, frame-filling man with the Mephistophelian eyebrows. He looms over the camera so much, filmed in wide, low-angle shots, that he resembles the Ogre his daughter calls him. That she's often shown between bars and frames, suggesting she's a prisoner of her father, only reinforces the notion.
Mr. Arkadin is filled with that kind of expressionistic, show-off style. During his investigation, Guy speaks with the owner of a flea circus, and the man is filmed in such harsh lighting, he looks inhuman, especially when he holds his magnifying glass up to look at his fleas. Completing the impression is what he refers to as "feeding time," placing the fleas on his outstretched arm so they can suck his blood, and he's looks like a cadaverous junky.
The plot is a bit of mess, and it's hard to know whether Welles intended it to be oblique and elliptical or whether something got lost in post-production. It makes sense that Arkadin would have the witnesses found by Guy eliminated, but the movie creates the impression Arkadin knew where they've been this entire time, so what has he been waiting for?
The tragic nature of Arkadin is that he will do anything to keep his past hidden from Raina. He loves her more than anything, and the most important thing in the world to him is how she thinks of him. Anything, or anyone, that will make her think less of him must be eliminated.
Welles imbues the film with his directorial flourish. It's a good while into the movie before we meet Arkadin. Until then, he's only talked about and depicted by his possessions, including the castle and his private airplane, and this builds anticipation. When Guy finally meets him, it's during an elaborate, dizzying masquerade inside the castle, and the effect makes the film feel like Edgar Alan Poe's "Masque of the Red Death."
It's distorted, surreal, and borderline frightening, especially when we meet Arkadin, this massive, frame-filling man with the Mephistophelian eyebrows. He looms over the camera so much, filmed in wide, low-angle shots, that he resembles the Ogre his daughter calls him. That she's often shown between bars and frames, suggesting she's a prisoner of her father, only reinforces the notion.
Mr. Arkadin is filled with that kind of expressionistic, show-off style. During his investigation, Guy speaks with the owner of a flea circus, and the man is filmed in such harsh lighting, he looks inhuman, especially when he holds his magnifying glass up to look at his fleas. Completing the impression is what he refers to as "feeding time," placing the fleas on his outstretched arm so they can suck his blood, and he's looks like a cadaverous junky.
The plot is a bit of mess, and it's hard to know whether Welles intended it to be oblique and elliptical or whether something got lost in post-production. It makes sense that Arkadin would have the witnesses found by Guy eliminated, but the movie creates the impression Arkadin knew where they've been this entire time, so what has he been waiting for?
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