Killers of the Flower Moon
Directed by Martin Scorcese, 2023

At the heart of this movie are the rights of indigenous peoples, the malfeasance of corporate and political obstacles, and the challenges faced by first nation peoples. It depicts the tapestry of indigenous struggle and encourages local mobilization in ensuring the empowerment of such groups in the USA and across the world. This movie is an adaptation of the 2017 multi-award-winning novelette, Killers of the Flower Moon, written by David Grann. Produced by Dan Friedkin and others, the film production stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro, and Lily Gladstone. In content it is essentially an American epic western crime drama, but its subplot is about the birth pains of global indigenous power.

Set in 1920s Oklahoma, it focuses on a series of mysterious murders of leading members of the Osage Nation after oil was discovered on tribal land. The tribal members had retained mineral rights on their reservation, but a corrupt local political boss sought to steal the wealth. The film premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2023 and received critical acclaim, with praise for the movie’s integrity, Scorsese’s direction, the screenplay, cinematography, musical score, and cast performances (especially DiCaprio, Gladstone, and De Niro), although the long runtime (well above industry average) received some criticism.

There is much in the plot and the message of this film which will be of special interest to instructors and students of international relations. It would, for example, serve as a worthy resource for classroom discussion of indigenous rights, environmental protection, multinational governance, political mischievousness and many other kindred themes. If an IR instructor is looking for a modern exemplar of Machiavelli – this movie has one. In Grann’s insightful book and Scorsese’s empathetic portrayal, many themes relevant to IR are paramount. The pertinence to our IR literature is apparent from the opening scene. Thus, we see

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