Review: "Killers of the Flower Moon" is a Monument of Sorrow

by Cláudio Alves

Killers of the Flower Moon starts in death, but not of flesh or person. The Frontier is no more, the West has been won, and the Track of Tears travailed when the Osage tribe gathers to mourn a way of life. Their traditions, their beliefs, their language are moving into the twilight, so they bury a sacred pipe and give themselves a symbol to weep over and express unsurmountable grief. As if listening to the lament, the earth responds. Black oil bursts from the ground, a geyser of wealth for the People from the Middle Waters brought to this Oklahoma barrenness after settlers pushed them asunder and away from the Great Plains. A pittance place once thought worthless reveals itself a treasure, and, overnight, the Osage Nation becomes the richest per capita population in the world.

So starts Martin Scorsese's latest opus, a title that, even within the context of his hallowed filmography, feels like a monumental achievement…

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Halfway Mark Pt 1: Gay Films of the Moment and Near-Future

by Nathaniel R

JOYLAND

This pronouncement is two weeks late for Pride Month but 2023 is shaping up to be a good year for queer films. Not that people have noticed, exactly. The first new challenge for audiences in the brave new world of cinematic distribution is actually knowing that any particular movie exists. The second is knowing where to find it once you do (distribution is so messy in the 21st century!). Between the streaming wars, teensy theatrical runs, and the still rarely discussed / under reported wilderness of "VOD" many titles slip by unnoticed. The artists who made them and the lucky audiences who discover them can only hope they pick up steam through word of mouth or with the passage of time. The best LGBTQ title of the year is Pakistan's 2022 Oscar submission Joyland (reviewed by Cláudio) which is currently in the gap between a theatrical run and various ways to screen it at home and you already heard me rave about last November. When you get a chance to see it you absolutely must. Another unmissable is the Taylor Mac documentary on HBO (reviewed by Glenn).

After the jump some gems you can currently rent or stream that were released theatrically already and some to look forward to...

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Cannes: Scorsese triumphs again with "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Elisa Giudici reporting from Cannes

Leonardo DiCaprio & Lily Gladstone in "Killers of the Flower Moon"

Dear Martin Scorsese, why did you shy away from the main competition for the Palm d’Or? Needless to say, someone with your career and pedigree has almost nothing to lose even when pitted against younger, eager colleagues at a festival. And Killers of the Flower Moon is exactly the kind of movie that is sure to impress. First of all, it is carried with the energy and politics you would expect from someone younger than Scorsese. His trademark intensity is present again. He's ardent to share the forgotten history of how a group of white men in the 1920s orchestrated a slow genocide of the Osage tribe -- at attempt to eradicate them from a land filled with oil. It is not a war but a vicious scheme because the Osage tribe was given the land before its real value was discovered.

As a result, the young USA decides to play nice with the native people, at first, making them immensely wealthy...

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Yes No Maybe So: "Killers of the Flower Moon"

by Cláudio Alves

Ahead of the film's Cannes premiere, Apple TV has released the teaser for Martin Scorsese's Killers of the Flower Moon. The historical crime drama cum Western epic has been intensely anticipated by film lovers everywhere, making itself the hottest ticket at the Croisette, where it'll screen out of competition. With an exclusive theatrical release scheduled for October before dropping on the streaming service sometime afterward, the picture is well positioned to be one of the awards season's strongest contenders, with many predicting it in early prognostications. Though, when faced with the wonder of Scorsese's cinema, awards talk feels superfluous.

Not all filmmakers slow down in their twilight years, as is the case of this auteur. Indeed, in a recent interview, Scorsese talked about his sense of mortality, how the possibilities of the seventh art keep expanding to him, and there's not enough time to explore them all. It's too late. Following the superb Silence and The Irishman, Killers of the Flower Moon looks like the work of a master who still has much to show us…

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April Foolish Pt 5: Best Supporting Actress Possibilities

One thing years of doing the Supporting Actress Smackdown has reminded us of is that though the Academy is sometimes more adventurous with supporting nominations as opposed to leads (in that they'll consider eccentric performances or comic ones slightly more often) they still don't veer too far from their comfort zones of drama, prestige adaptations, heavy tears and the like. But how cool would it be if the Academy really let loose, did something atypical and catapulted themselves into the multiverse ala Everything Everywhere All At Once and found a universe where they would awards stuff like Jamie Lee Curtis's very game, vanity-free, and quite hilarious performance as a IRS auditor. In this same alternate universe they might be more drawn to Nicole Kidman's wilder artistic impulses which are reportedly on display in the backhalf of The Northman, but which they've ignored at the Academy since forever. In the same category of potentially provocative characters, we're on pins and needles wondering what Greta Gerwig will do with her "Babette" role in White Noise.

We're also hoping Whoopi Goldberg (Till), Audra McDonald (Rustin), and Hong Chau (The Whale) have great roles though obviously their parts in these projects could be more tiny and decorative, too. It's all blindfolded conjecture at this point though Lily Gladstone (Killers of the Flower Moon), Michelle Williams (The Fabelmans) and Samantha Morton (She Said) feel like solid bets this far out. CHECK OUT THE NEW CHART FOR THE APRIL FOOLISH PREDICTIONS IN THIS CATEGORY

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