Saturday, November 4, 2023

Movie #3123 ............................"Killers of the Flower Moon" (movie theater)

 MOVIE #3123 "Killers of the Flower Moon" (Movie Theater)  This is an important movie to see for a number of reasons.  It is a story that needs to be told and to everyone - it involves the serial killing of a number of Osage native Americans in the Osage county, mostly women.   Ironically, it occurred about the time the land these native Americans were on had several discoveries of oil,  and the land was all of a sudden rich with oil  (translation; more  money and worth.  You can tell Scorsese dotted all the i's and crossed all the t's for this one, not wanting to insult the people and their land, and it truly is a very well-made film.  It is based on David Gran's well written novel  of the same name.  I read the book, and even though it is non-fiction and not my favorite genre, I loved all the forensic research in it, the story line, and the birth of the FBI told in such detail.  Note that the focus is changed for the movie and much less on the FBI and more on the native american woman and her  husband, who  has a hand in her sisters' deaths, and possibly her poisoning.  Therefore, the FBI is in the background, and we see the murders set up, rather than the research the police have to sift through to see who did it.   But the themes are the same -- native americans are  considered animals and at the hands of white men.    Women are especially targets for the brutality.  Men in the county  are complicit with the evil doings.  Community members are bamboozled by a Trump- like leader who charms and manipulates  them on the outside, but is evil in his thoughts and actions.    Another reason you might want to see it is because it is sure to be lauded with   number of academy award nominations - the acting is superb, and the photography is so well done, that you can see how meticulously each shot is in the hands of this master director.  It really teaches us what the osage native culture is really like, and it does it with a diverse cast that shows us the customs, songs and dances in almost every frame.  It is a long film, like many of the other ones that have been good and oscar-worthy this year, but this one didn't seem slower because the story was really tight and always moving forward.  And the ending was superb --- but I don't want to say more about it in fear of saying too much --- don't want to spoil it for you.  But I strongly urge you to see this one --- it'll go down in movie history as one of the best ever done.  I give it 4.5 out of 5. 

"KILLER OF THE FLOWER MOON"   2023     R     3 hours 26 mins

When oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma under Osage Nation land, the Osage people are murdered one
-  until the FBI steps in to unravel the mystery.

Director:  Martin Scorsese

Writers:  Eric Roth, Martin Scorsese, David Grann

Actors:  leonardo Di Caprio, Robert De Niro, lily Gladstone

 


 

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