The film will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 20, in the Grand Théâtre Lumière
CANNES, France – As Osages arrive to attend the world premiere of Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the first trailer has been released. From first glance, the film will be an intense experience.
Set at the turn of the 20th century, oil brought a fortune to the Osage who became some of the richest people in the world overnight. The wealth of the Osage immediately attracted white interlopers, who manipulated, extorted, and stole as much of the tribe’s money as they could before resorting to murder.
According to an Apple Original Films release, the film is “Based on a true story and told through the improbable romance of Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Mollie Kyle (Lily Gladstone). ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ is an epic western crime saga, where real love crosses paths with unspeakable betrayal.”
The trailer begins with young Osage men, playing in an oil geyser on the Osage Reservation. According to tribal historians, the Osage knew the land was rich with oil when they negotiated to keep the mineral rights to their lands at the time of allotment in 1906. This critical move has been credited to Chief James Bigheart, who fluently spoke seven languages and was a full blood Osage rancher and businessman.
The trailer continues with a sweeping wide shot of the Fairfax train station and the city of Fairfax in the 1920s. Ernest Burkhart is arriving in town from Texas. A voiceover begins of Ernest, reading about the history of the Osage people. This begins a montage of scenes between Ernest and Mollie.
The mood changes and ominous music begins. A slow drum beat pulses throughout as DiCaprio says, “Move, said the Great White Father. There are many, so many, hungry wolves. Can you find the wolves in this picture?”
Fields of oil derricks, scenes from an Osage wedding as William K. Hale, portrayed by Robert De Niro, makes his way through the guests. Ernest leading Mollie through a crowded train station as white people stare at her.
“This October” flashes and Ernest is leading Mollie to the crime scene of where the body of her sister Anna Brown is found. What follows are scenes of murder, brutality, and violence.
A wolf howls against with the drum beat of the music as “Greed is an Animal” and “That Hungers for Blood” flashes on the screen.
Another montage of scenes as Ernest looks in horror at a house burning to the ground; FBI agent Tom White, portrayed by Jesse Plemons, questions DiCaprio; a vial of poison is poured into a drink; an exploding bank vault with money flying through the air. The faces of Mollie and her three sisters flash by.
The trailer ends with a scene of smartly dressed white men and women, mingling in a room. They become quiet and look at the camera as if they are all keeping a secret. DiCaprio’s voiceover ends with “Can you find the wolves, in this picture?”
“Killers of the Flower Moon” is directed by Academy Award winner Martin Scorsese from a screenplay by Eric Roth and Scorsese, based on David Grann’s best-selling book. It will make its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, May 20, in the Grand Théâtre Lumière. With a run time of 3 hours and 26 minutes, the Apple Original Film is one of four films invited by the festival to premiere in the Out of Competition category, which means it will not compete for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or.
Apple Original Films announced March 27 the film will be exclusively released in partnership with Paramount Pictures in limited theaters worldwide on Friday, Oct. 6, and widely released on Friday, Oct. 20, before streaming globally on Apple TV+. “Killers of the Flower Moon” also stars Jesse Plemons, John Lithgow, Brendan Fraser, Tantoo Cardinal, Cara Jade Myers, JaNae Collins, Jillian Dion, Tatanka Means, William Belleau, Jason Isbell, Louis Cancelmi, Scott Shepherd, Sturgill Simpson and many others.
Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/EG0si5bSd6I
