Cannes Film Festival
“Killers of the Flower Moon”: Scorsese’s western thriller
Leonardo DiCaprio (lr), Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro and Cara Jade Myers present their film “Killers of the Flower Moon” in Cannes. photo
© Joel C Ryan/Invision/AP/dpa
Leonardo DiCaprio plays a fool, Robert De Niro a ruthless mastermind. Martin Scorsese’s new film is shocking – especially because the story is based on true facts.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, plus the topics of money and violence: In his new film “Killers of the Flower Moon”, US director Martin Scorsese resorts to tried and tested means. The result is a western thriller with a shocking story based on true facts.
The three and a half hour Apple production premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday night. Hundreds of fans lined the red carpet to catch a glimpse of the stars. After the premiere there were standing ovations and applause lasting several minutes.
That’s what the movie is about
The film tells the story of the indigenous Osage people who fell victim to a major crime in Oklahoma in the 1920s. Members of her tribe were systematically murdered after large amounts of oil were found on their land. The murders were not investigated for a long time, after all the FBI investigated the matter. The film is based on a non-fiction book by journalist David Grann.
The land assigned to the Osage as a reservation was actually considered barren. What nobody knew at first: It contained gigantic oil deposits. The residents became immensely rich. This, in turn, did not sit well with some white neighbors. The film tells of the ruthlessness with which the indigenous people were controlled, robbed and killed.
It centers on DiCaprio as Ernest Burkhart and De Niro as his uncle William Hale. He owns a ranch on the Osago Reservation and has great influence in the region. He pretends to be a great friend of the Osage, but is actually only after their oil rights.
In return, he arranges for his nephew’s sisters-in-law to be murdered, followed by numerous other relatives. Ernest is married to an Osage woman, Mollie (Lily Gladstone), and lets his uncle turn him into an accomplice. The film tells of the greed that drives white men to unspeakable deeds. From racism. But also of a love story, which gives the whole thing more complexity.
In German cinemas on October 19
De Niro plays a villain who seems absurdly ruthless. Until you remember that it actually happened in one way or another. DiCaprio, on the other hand, plays an impressionable, slightly goofy man who has a much wiser woman at his side. He loves her dearly, but that doesn’t stop him from letting his uncle use him more and more. The dynamic of the two men, despite all the gloom, also has funny moments.
Before “Killers of the Flower Moon” can be seen on Apple TV, it will be released in German cinemas on October 19. It is worth seeing this film on the big screen. The vast landscape of Oklahoma is captured by impressive camera work, plus great costumes and atmospheric blues and country sounds. And Scorsese insisted on appearing in front of the camera himself for a brief moment.