“Killers of the Flower Moon” Premieres at Cannes Film Festival

Director Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon” premiered last weekend at the Cannes Film Festival and has since been praised by both members of the Osage Nation and critics, with major news outlets like The Guardian already labeling it an “American Classic.” 

The movie is an adaptation of the nonfiction book “Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI”by author David Grann and details the real-life events of 1920 when members of the Osage Nation of Osage County, Oklahoma are murdered after oil is found on their land and the FBI investigation that followed. Grann’s book was a 2017 bestseller and helped expose dozens of the unexplained deaths on the Osage Nation. Now, the movie seeks to continue the conversation about the tragedies that occurred in 1920. 

The movie has a 97-percent positive rating on the popular movie review website Rotten Tomatoes. Following the Cannes premiere, the film received a nine-minute-long standing ovation. Lily Gladstone (Blackfeet and Nimíipuu), who plays Mollie Burkhart in the film, received the loudest applause during the ovation. 

Academy Award winner Leonardo Dicaprio stars in the lead role of Ernest Burkhart, adding the role to the long list of award-winning movies he’s starred in. Alongside Decaprio and Gladstone, Robert De Niro also stars along with a large cast of Indigenous actors, including Tantoo Cardinal, JaNae Collins, and Jillian Dion.

Former Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, Jim Gray, posted to Twitter:

“How was the movie? It was excellent. Scorsese even captured some of our humor. The performances across the board were Oscar-worthy; I mean it. I’ve never seen a movie like this before. No White Savior, nothing needed to be made up. The violence is real, and the music of the Osage language is beautifully spoken by all of the actors, especially the non-Osage actors. At some point, I stopped worrying about the subtitles. But the ending. Oh man, you will not forget the ending. But you’re going to have to see the film for that. My lips are sealed.”

“Killers of the Flower Moon” comes to theaters nationwide on Oct. 20, 2023.