Scorsese’s Half-Century-Long Vision
If anyone ever questioned Martin Scorsese’s dedication to storytelling, let his latest film, “Killers of the Flower Moon,” silence those doubts. Set to premiere in just a few days, the director divulged in an interview with The New Yorker that the subject matter has been marinating in his creative psyche for nearly five decades.
“I think it goes back to a time in ’74, when I had this opportunity to spend some time, only a day or two, maybe two days, with the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) tribe, in South Dakota,” Scorsese shared.
It’s a film that touches on the haunting murders within the Osage Nation in 1920s Oklahoma, a topic as harrowing as it is timely.
Hollywood and Native American Representation: A Brief History
In the early ’70s, Hollywood was not particularly keen on nuanced portrayals of Native American characters. This was a time when whitewashing was the norm, and stories of Native Americans were told through a distorted lens. According to Scorsese, he was too young to comprehend the issues facing the Native American community, despite his exposure to poverty in his own upbringing.
“I grew up with poverty in another way, which was working-class men and women on Elizabeth Street and Mott Street and Mulberry, but we also had the Bowery. But I never saw anything like this,” the director said.
The Journey of Understanding
It wasn’t until Scorsese dug deeper into American history and its appalling disregard for Native Americans that he started connecting the dots.
“I met some Native Americans again in L.A. at the time, and we talked about another project, and I saw, too, that this incredible fantasy that we had growing up as children was something that—even despite the wonderful attempts at righting the wrongs of the Hollywood films with Broken Arrow, Drum Beat, Apache, Devil’s Doorway—all the films that were pro-Native American,” he elaborated.
Scorsese admits that his understanding was limited back then, explaining how he once thought that America had overcome its prejudice and that Native populations were assimilated to an extent.
“When I got out there, and I saw what it was, it was different,” he confessed.
Star-Studded Cast in a Groundbreaking Film
The cast assembled for “Killers of the Flower Moon” is nothing short of extraordinary, featuring talents like Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Robert DeNiro, Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, Tantoo Cardinal, and Brendan Fraser.
Mark Your Calendars
With a premiere date set for October 20, “Killers of the Flower Moon” promises to be a cinematic masterpiece that tackles important issues, driven by Scorsese’s lifelong vision and a compelling cast.
Filmgoers and critics alike are highly anticipating what could be a major turning point in Hollywood’s representation of Native American stories. So if you’re a fan of thought-provoking cinema, this is one film you won’t want to miss.
