Killers of the Flower Moon with DiCaprio: What does the title of Scorsese’s film mean?

Out in theaters on October 18th, Assassins of Flower Moon is Martin Scorsese’s new feature film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Lily Gladstone. Unlike some of Scorsese’s films, such as The Departed or The Wolf of Wall Street, Killers of the Flower Moon did not have a French translation of the title.

The film, rated by the Committee of Classification with a general audience warning, is based on the investigative book of the same name written by David Grann. Published in France under the title American note. Why did the author decide to call his work The Flower Moon Killers, a mysterious title if ever there was one?

Flowering and abundance

In the United States, some Native American tribes called the full moon in May the “Flower Moon.” This period corresponded to the flowering of the moon flower, which is a sign of the abundance to come after a cold and harsh winter.

For similar reasons, other tribes named the moon after the onset of spring. For example, some northern clans called the full moon in May “bud moon” or “leaf bud moon” to celebrate the new blooms of spring. Others called it the “sowing moon” because it marked the time when seeds were to be planted for the coming agricultural season.

moon flower

David Grann was inspired by the Flower Moon for his title because the period of murders he describes in his book is connected to this little flower moon. Thus, he shifted it from its original meaning to give it a dramatic and dark connotation. Indeed, this flower grows on the grasslands of the Osage tribe in Oklahoma, the US state where the killings of Native Americans took place in the 1920s.

Over these lands spread the deadly shadow of a few greedy white men who shed the blood of many victims of the Osage tribe. So this brings us back to the story of the Flower Moon Assassins.

In the early 20th century, oil brought wealth to the Osages, who overnight became one of the richest in the world. The wealth of these Native Americans immediately attracted the lust of unscrupulous white men, who intrigued, extorted, and stole as much of the Osage money as they could before resorting to murder.

Killers of the Flower Moon hits theaters on October 18.