Killers of the Flower Moon: artistry and outstanding cast

Translated by Chiara Guadagna

Without a doubt, Killers of the Flower Moon was one of the most eagerly awaited films of the year. Martin Scorsese and his team faced a significant challenge, considering the wide media resonance of the film Oppenheimer, directed by one of the world's most renowned colleagues, and Barbie, directed by the emerging star of the cinema, Greta Gerwig.

What must surely be admitted is that the film goes beyond the concept of a “cinematographic product” and becomes an experience as many critics of the past wished cinema to be.

The director explores an unknown land, far from his classic "gangster films", with a film that focuses on spirituality. Scorsese felt obliged to respond to the Pope's call to tell about love and sent a message about the approaching end and the need to manage the time left. The film thus becomes a valuable reflection on time and the repeating cycles in American history. The core of the narrative focuses on the murders of the native Osage tribe between 1918 and 1931, revisiting and rewriting the myths of the American pioneers and industrial captains who helped unify the country under the banner of power we know today, perhaps all too well.

The film is also a family saga centred on a triangle of hate, love and greed. The three main characters - played by DiCaprio, Gladstone and De Niro - are the essence of the film. The director reveals the dark side of the growing America, where oil has brought wealth but also corruption. The film explores violence and corruption without ever really showing them, focusing on the characters’ gaze and the dialogues that run throughout the film

The length of the film is definitely in line with the current trend and I would not give Scorsese credit for creating this trend. To rephrase one of his sentences, the reason for the film’s length should be subject to narrative needs and therefore “it could only be of this length”. In the cinema we have many previous examples, Histoire(s) du Cinéma by Jean-Luc Godard which lasts almost five hours, or even earlier the imposing Napoleon project, never finished by Abel Gance which, in addition to the temporal necessity (more than five hours), adds the spatial one. During its reproduction, the director used in fact polyvision, that is, the projection of the film on three different screens, a technique that still shocks today and for which we are talking about needs that arose at the beginning of the twentieth century, when cinema was about thirty years old.

Scorsese continues to explore the history of his nation, and in this case, he gives us a compelling insight into the birth of America through the eyes of the victims of the Osage murders. The film is a testimony to injustice and human greed, and Scorsese uses cinema to tell a story unfamiliar to many.

For those who still love and want to see a fine, auteur cinema, will surely find in Killers of the Flower Moon a way to reflect on history and also a little on our own condition, the human one. It is a work that shows Scorsese's artistry in telling complex and deep stories, demonstrating that cinema can still be a powerful and engaging form of art.

However, there is also another concept that must necessarily be taken into account and that is that of those who experience cinema only and exclusively as a moment of leisure or community without being able to understand how much of what the light shows us on the screen is considered. But they too serve the box office and perhaps it is they who allow the cinema to “survive”, they who watch the cast and the director. Definitely two factors that make this film a winner from an economic point of view.

True, Nolan showed us one of the best films of the century that will surely be studied and praised for a long time, but here's a list of the reasons why even if you don't know the story, you're going to see this film:

• Martin Scorsese
• Leonardo Dicaprio
• Robert De Niro
• Brendan Fraser
• Jesse Plemons
• John Lithgow

I think a couple of them are known. Maybe Jesse Plemons doesn't tell you much. Here are some of the latest films starting from 2019 (it's 4 years, let's not forget): The Irishman, El camino - The film of Breaking Bad, Judah and the Black Messiah, Jungle Cruise, The Power of the Dog.

Ultimately, Killers of the Flower Moon stands out as an outstanding cinematographic work that transcends the boundaries of mere entertainment to offer a profound exploration of American history, human greed and the value of time. Martin Scorsese once again demonstrates his artistry in telling complex stories, and the cast of renowned actors helps to make this film an indispensable stage in contemporary cinema.

In a society where cinema can be considered both an art and an entertainment, this film embodies both. So whether you're a fan of auteur cinema or you're looking for an evening of pure entertainment, this film definitely deserves a place on your must-see list.

Mondo Internazionale APS - Private Reproduction ® 2023

Sources: https://www.ilpost.it/2023/10/21/killers-of-the-flower-moon-osage/

https://www.rivistastudio.com/killers-of-the-flower-moon-martin-scorsese-recensione/
https://www.cinefacts.it/cinefacts-articolo-1501/killers-of-the-flower-moon-recensione-omicidio-testimonianza-colpa.html
https://www.badtaste.it/cinema/articoli/incassi-italia-me-contro-te-vacanze-transilvania-batte-killers-of-the-flower-moon-weekend/

https://www.metacritic.com/movie/killers-of-the-flower-moon/
https://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/napoleon-vu-par-abel-gance_%28Enciclopedia-del-Cinema%29/
Photo's source:https://www.flickr.com/photos/34937847@N05/8192907827