Killers of the flower moon: History's forgotten tragedy

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON
Theatrical release: OCTOBER 18, 2023
Duration: 3h26
Director: Martin Scorsese
Main actors: Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert De Niro
Synopsis: At the beginning of the 20th century, oil brought fortune to the Osage people who, overnight, became one of the richest in the world. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracts the lust of disreputable whites who intrigue, extract and steal as much Osage money as possible before resorting to murder...

Foreword

Most cinema biopics tell the story of a period in history. These kinds of films like to announce that the film is “inspired by a true story”. If there was an experience, there are logically testimonies and documentation on the subject.

I am therefore going to do a little history on the conquest of America, where many suffered from these colonizations and talk about their transposition to cinema. But if you prefer to skip straight to the review, you can go straight here to get my My opinion.

The sad history of Native Americans

In our childhood, we all had history lessons during our school period. Courses in broad terms that required us to go beyond appearances so that we could immerse ourselves in books.

From my experience, the more the years pass, the more the lessons I have had evaporate over time, retaining only the essentials. That doesn't mean my memory is failing. But because the history teacher I had couldn't or didn't want to give too many details. Certain periods of history being quite dark, they are not mentioned to children aged between 8 and 14 years old.

There have been major events in history that still have repercussions today. The period of history that interests us here and that of America which was founded on human disasters.

When Christopher Columbus believed he had found the Indies, he did not yet suspect that his discovery would provoke wars for the domination of territory, spices and gold (between 15th and 16th century). The conquistadors, attracted by gold, caused millions of victims, particularly with the conquest of Mexico and the Inca empire.

Between the 17th and 18th centuries, there was an expansion of European colonies in North, Central and South America. Several countries will be added to Spain and Portugal: France, England, the Netherlands and Sweden. The great European powers will compete for control of America's natural resources and markets.

It was in the 18th century that there was a real struggle for the independence of the American colonies. The United States of America, Mexico, Central America and South America will get it in the 19th century.

The colonization of the Americas by Europe, having brought with it diseases, technologies and different cultures, will have a profound impact on the indigenous populations,

Concerning the Native Americans of North America, 3 wars were particularly deadly:

King Philip's War (New England) between 1675 and 1676
Yamasees War (1715-1716)
Pontiac's War (1763-1766)

To learn more about these wars, go here

This dark and sad story of the conquest of America has often been brought to the cinema. In most films until the last 3 decades, Indians were depicted as bloodthirsty savages scalping their victims. Films essentially based on the knowledge of the time, conveying a bad image of Indians, pointing the finger at them. Films were there to show a certain truth, a bit like our history lessons.

This representation in cinema of the legitimate white man heir to lands previously inhabited by the natives, was born in 1930 until the end of the 1950s. This period is marked by the emergence of the western as a genre in its own right. The films of this period are traditional westerns which show the conflicts between white settlers and Native Americans. These films have a spectacular setting with heroic characters. The Fantastic Ride (1939), Shane (1953) And The Magnificent Seven (1960) are among the most notable films of this era.

Then came the twilight western period (1960-1970) which highlighted dark and violent films. The first of this era will be For a handful of dollars (1964). It was during this period that the spaghetti western emerged. In this category, we can cite The good, the bad and the ugly (1966), Djando (1966) And Once upon a Time in the West (1968).

Finally, the post-modern period which begins from 1970 and will continue until the end of the 2000s. This period is a turning point in the western genre, since it will allow the convections of the established genre to be questioned. They are essentially revisionist films. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Ruthless (1992) And Open Range (2003) are among those.

During the 1990s, awareness arose and many countries recognized this massacre as a crime against humanity.

It is in this context that films like Dancing with the wolves (1991) made their appearance. Dances with Wolves is a film by Kevin Costner who was his first attempt as a director. Dances with Wolves will thrill viewers for its storytelling. It made a big noise because it went against what we had seen before. He is described by critics as humanist, astounding, advocating tolerance and understanding of cultures. Kevin Costner will also receive 7 Oscars for this film the same year.

Several films will ride on the success of Dances with Wolves, but without ever really matching it. The Last of the Mohicans(1992) is a good example since despite his qualities, he will be criticized for caricaturing Native Americans, portrayed as cruel and bloodthirsty savages.

Little by little, the films are moving away from their very colonialist and caricatured representation of native Americans to move towards something more authentic.

But this golden age of the western has been relegated to the background today. Tarantino's latest film,Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tells us in a colorful but splendid way the end of the traditional era of westerns, through the story of an actor whose career is in decline. Certainly one of the director's best films.

Martin Scorsese

I love historical frescoes in cinema. These films that delve into the entire life of a character. Laurence of Arabia, Once Upon a Time in America and many others. These films were able to conquer their audience with their content and their characters. If a film must last this long, it is because it has the duty to tell something in detail and in an intelligent way without boring its viewer. So it’s a real balancing act.

One of the few who still knows how to do it today is certainly Martin Scorsese. With more than 64 years of career under his belt, the director, now 81 years old, has shown more than once what he knows how to do in terms of cinema. In addition, he is part of a line of directors who still shoot in the old-fashioned way today, meaning that he often relies on natural settings to immerse the viewer. What is also remarkable in the maestro's filmography is his mastery of direction and, above all, constant quality of his films. And with the years that pass, we can now say that he no longer has anything to prove, proof with his latest film.

Killers of the flower moon

Killers of the Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese's latest historical film released this year. This is not his first historical film. Casino, Gangs of New York or The Irishman were already films based on true events.

The story he tells in this film is based on a book by David Grann titled The American Note (the original title is Killers of the flower moon). Grann had to investigate for 5 years to find the testimonies of Osage grandchildren and great-grandchildren on facts dating back to 1920. This unknown history of America was made public thanks to the publication of this book in 2017. At the beginning of this twentieth century, the Amerindians had not yet reached the end of their suffering after so much hatred directed against them. But if from the 16th to the 19th century, it was a question of extermination of Native American peoples for their territory, this history of the 20th century is largely based on resources and discrimination against these people.

The Osage, forced to cede their native lands, Missouri and Arkansas, at the beginning of the 20th century found themselves entrenched in an Indian reservation in Oklahoma (under the Medicine Lodge Treaty) of 1400 square meters. The reserve is based in an arid and inhospitable region. The Osage have struggled to adapt and face discrimination. In 1897, they discovered oil on the reserve and found a way to turn it into wealth. But the white settlers heard about it and began to exploit the Osage and their lands, using more than questionable means: stabbing, poisoning, arranged marriages to kill the woman later and inherit, nothing would be spared. A total of around sixty villainous murders will take place in order to rob them of their money. An investigation by the future FBI will take place and justice will be done in 1922.

The Osage killings are a tragic example of the violence and exploitation that indigenous people have suffered in the United States. It was therefore important for Martin Scorsese to be able to remain as faithful as possible to the history of the Osage.

Authenticity

Scorsese didn't do things by halves to Killers of the flower moon. He first read David Grann's book, then traveled to Osage lands. Finally, and because without them nothing would have been possible, Martin Scorsese met for several hours with several people directly or indirectly linked to the case, including:

Charlene White Eagle-Williams, a descendant of the White Eagle family, who was one of the first victims of the "Moonflower" murders.
Billie Jo HorseChief, an Osage historian and activist, who helped Scorsese understand the history and culture of the Osage people.
Clyde and Wilma Ellis, an Osage couple who told Scorsese about their memories of the murders and life on the Osage reservation in the early 20th century.

Scorsese wanted to be as close as possible to the story and often came back to see them to enhance his scenario, even attending certain Osage ceremonies.

The result is there: Scorsese going for surgical precision when it comes to telling the story, paying homage to the Osage in a very beautiful way. It is striking to see that the film redraws every detail of this period on the big screen. Ranging from the unexpected enrichment of these Native Americans via luxury objects, white people and gambling or even the chiseled characters of the characters, nothing is missing from this film whose photography is beautiful even at night. This is a change from night shots filmed with a blue filter.

The sets and photography

Just like his mastery of telling his story, Scorsese's camera films filthy and dusty settings immersing us in a genre that the director had never experimented with: The western. But it's because he knows what he wants to film that it seems so real, the filming having taken place on the Osage reservation in Oklahoma. color grading gives a natural tone to everything.

The characters and actors

The terrible tragedy of the Osage is closely linked to the misdeeds committed by Ernest Burkhart and his uncle William Hale on this tribe.

William Hale was well known among the Osage for donating to charity and being loyal. Robert De Niro's interpretation of Hale makes him a real monster, devious and manipulative. Because if Di Caprio's character is loyal to his uncle because he found a job despite his poor skills, Hale will not hesitate to manipulate his nephew to obtain every last dollar. Employing all possible and imaginable means that a human being can imagine to achieve his ends. De Niro making Hale someone cold, greedy and unscrupulous. And the message comes across wonderfully on screen. I had never seen such a detestable antagonist in the cinema. De Niro will say in an interview dedicated to Critqal not understanding William Hale's behavior, not understanding how and why he did so much harm to this community.

As for his nephew played by Leonardo Di Caprio, he is portrayed as a person with a low level of education having finished his military training, looking for fortune thanks to the oil fields. It was then that in 1912 he joined his uncle who gave him a job. Not suspecting for a moment that his uncle's goal of marrying him to an Osage woman was to inherit his fortune when he died. Di Caprio plays a complex and ambiguous role, whose true motivations will be difficult to pin down. Playing on two levels, we feel he is execrable, plundering the dead of their wealth while shamefully trying to reassure his wife Mollie Kyle Burkhart.

Mollie Kyle who is played by Lily Gladstone. Originally from the tribe of Nimíipuu and Picunis , this Native American actress will leave the Blackfeet reservation to take theater classes. She will not be the only Native American to have been hired in Scorsese's film, since many other people of the same origins will be taken for secondary roles like William Belleau (Henry Roan) or Atanka Means (Agent John WrenWren) who is from of the Osage tribe. Always with a concern for authenticity for the director.

Lily Gladstone plays a Mollie Kyler who lets herself believe that Ernest Burkhart is different despite her sisters' warnings. But she is not fooled by the intentions of her husband, who is a white American like any other, who has come to seek his fortune. But for her, he is in no hurry. Lily Gladstone's interpretation is just magnificent. We can guess his thoughts just by seeing, in his non-verbal expressions or the words expressed in English or the Osage language.

The Osage language

Indeed, unlike certain films or series where people use the same language to communicate with each other, Scorsese made the effort to reteach the actors who needed it the use of the original language to better fit the character. Indeed, the Osage speak a Algonquian language which is threatened with extinction today. So it took Lily Gladstone months of rehearsal before she could speak Osage correctly. Just like it is for Robert De Niro and a few others.

Scorsese wrote and directed a story as it was experienced, without filters, in a raw way. The series of murders perpetrated are represented on the screen without moderation, putting the viewer to torture. But knowing the way Scorsese films violence, this is hardly surprising.

As I said above, the work on Killers of the flower moon was titanic to be as close as possible to reality. The film may seem harsh at certain moments, but I think it was essential that it be so to impact the viewer who is not familiar with this episode of American history.

I think films have this duty to preserve history when they are well written and directed. For my part, this film taught me one thing: Whatever the eras, man has always been hungry for power and sought to dominate others on a more or less large scale. He can commit the worst mistakes as well as the best actions, and have the worst intentions in order to appropriate what does not belong to him.

This film particularly moved me and still today, it is the one that deeply marks my attachment to the history of the Native Americans and in particular the Osage. A situation that comes close to being slowly exterminated out of greed. I don't have words strong enough to express and characterize the type of humans ordering this kind of atrocity. At times, this film made me think of the worst moments in our own history.

This is why I put so much effort into writing this article: To go beyond the film and seek out as much information as possible about what happened at the time. And my next bedside book to complete my research will be David Grann's book which is quite affordable.

This film mixes traditions and modernity, Indian traditions and modernity brought by the descendants of the settlers. But even if jealousy of others exists in all cultures, here it is multiplied by ten and imported among people who only wanted one thing: to escape their poverty to live better.

And here, Scorsese succeeded on all counts, making us think about human nature.