Native country cannot wait for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ to release

Whenever there’s a movie that features Indigenous Americans, there’s always the fear that the portrayal will marginalize or reinforce existing stereotypes. There’s of course the thought this could be the case with the new Martin Scorsese epic Killers of the Flower Moon, but if this viral video from Cannes featuring authentic war cries is any indication, everything is looking great.

An account named Dakota Running Crane shared a clip from the end of the screening of the film at the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year, and it showed three of the indigenous actors from the film demonstrating their heritage after the screening. That ovation, by the way, went on for nine minutes.

“Native country cannot wait for ‘Killers of the Flower Moon’ to release,” Running Crane said in the caption. In the voice over, they said “Native brothers showing Cannes Film Festival what a warrior call is.”

The clip is an emotional one. It features actor William Belleau and Tatanka Means cheering and yelling proudly during the ovation. One actor holds his fist up in the air while Belleau screams loudly and proudly. It really is a poignant moment, much more so for the actors themselves.

The act even moves Scorsese to tears. It’s hard not to get excited about the movie with reactions like this. Killers of the Flower Moon is based on a book called Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI by journalist David Grann.

It tells the story of a series of murders in Oklahoma in the Osage Nation during the ’20s, after oil was discovered on the land. It stars Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brendan Fraser, and Lily Gladstone, as well as indigenous actors that include Tantoo Cardinal and Cara Jade Myers. The movie releases in theaters on Oct. 20.