killers of the flower moon defines what cinema is for scorsese - a review and a study

Scorsese and Lily Gladstone

scorsese just released his latest film in theatres and its called 'killers of the flower moon' and is based in 1920s oklahoma surrounding the osage tribes

scorsese has been in the news recently, especially for his comments regarding some of the biggest movies of our past decade - superhero movies. scorsese draws a parallel to them being equivalent to theme park rides and not real cinema.

Scorsese's thoughts on superhero movies

when scorsese talks about cinema, its easy to snide and pass him off as just a snob who doesn't like fun movies - but this movie embodies what scorsese keeps talking about and the fact that this is truly cinema. this movie embodies the power that cinema as an art form truly holds. walking out of the theatres, you will have learned about something from perspectives of people you would've never gotten to see unless you had actively seeked them out. empathy and growth by just paying a small amount of money while also being entertained on your off day. this is cinema

talking about the movie, it's very tough to wrap your head around the fact that this man is 80 years old and still firing at all fronts delivering a movie that can rival every contemporary director and as well as his own legendary works

the movie is over 3 hours 20 minutes long and yet the actual runtime won't be felt by you at all (by your physical body maybe since you will be sitting for a long time). every shot and every frame is carefully orchestrated with style so good that you can screenshot every frame

the movie's cast are all obviously very acclaimed and incredible actors and yet they somehow deliver a performance that will stand toe to toe with their past hits. yet despite all the big names, lily gladstone takes the crown. she delivers a performance that will leave you mesmerized every second. a performance that will make you weep and feel the intensity of some of the things happening in the movie

the entirety of the movie is also propelled to new heights by the incredible music. this isn't your regular modern hans zimmeresque orchestration but instead a score that stirs you in a way that remains intune with the movie's setting

its very evident how much scorsese cares about the actual topic being dealt with and his effort is very much visible in every second of the film

the idea of white people "civilizing" different indian tribes is an idea inherently rooted in a lot of hatred that a lot of white men through history have had towards everyone even slightly dissimilar. this same thing is also happening in realtime in modern india where a lot of the tribes in north-eastern part of india are still being put under rigorous scrutiny and an attempt is being made to "civilize" them. its disheartening that what happened to the native Americans of america continues to happen to multiple tribes such as the nagas in India to this day while most people in the country consider north east to not be a real part of india

a Naga tribe member

anyway, i digress, the movie is a poignant work showcasing things that are of great value to this day. showcasing how civil the tribes actually were and contrasting it with the "civilized" nature of the white people - being rowdy, being loud and being treating everything as a tradeable asset under capitalism. mollie's character is one with great integrity, patience and passion; juxtaposed with the rowdy, spineless and impatient character of ernest

so many emotions but to sum it up

unequivocally a statement on what cinema is supposed to be