CANNES (Reuters) – Lily Gladstone, who grew up on a Blackfoot Indian reservation and stars in Martin Scorsese’s study of white society’s betrayal of her people, called the director a powerful ally in telling the world that communities like hers have always been knew.
In the film “Killer of the Flower Moon,” which premiered at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, Gladstone stars as Mollie Burkhart, a member of the Osage Nation whose relatives die under suspicious circumstances in 1920s Oklahoma .
Because of his worldwide reputation, Scorsese is in a unique position to dispel prevailing myths, he said.
He said, “Who else but this man is going to challenge people to question their own complicity with white supremacy? Other artists are doing that work. People listen to what this man has to say.” ” “We need these allies”
Referring to the prevalent hoaxes, Gladstone asked, “Why doesn’t the world know about these things? Our communities always know.”
In the film, Gladstone marries her white driver, Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio), whose uncle is the “King of Osage Hills” William Hale (Robert De Niro).
Hale poses as a friend of the oil-rich Osage, while instigating their murders to profit from the deaths.
The director, who shot entirely in Oklahoma, said the more he learned about the Osage, the more he wanted to include in the film, which is nearly four hours long.
“I wanted to know everything about the Osage, and it’s overwhelming,” he said.
Chief Standing Bear (“Standing Bear”), Principal Chief of the Osage Nation, said that Scorsese repaid the trust.
“My people have suffered a lot. To this day, those effects are still with us. But on behalf of the Osage, I can say that Scorsese and his team have restored trust and we know that trust will not be betrayed.” , ” said the chief standing bearer to reporters at Cannes.
