Vic’s Top 17 Films of 2023 - A Tale of Two Theatre Trips - Part One / AKA “Tell us how you REALLY feel, Vic!!”

This year’s list of my favourite films (NOTE: not the BEST films of 2023 but MY FAVOURITE films of 2023) requires a long introduction and postscript - too long to include in a post with the list itself. So I am dividing Vic’s Top 17 Films of 2023 into three parts this year, with one part coming now, the list coming on the weekend, and the final part coming early next week.

The reason for this is two trips I made to the Saint John Cineplex in 2023. On one of these trips (in the spring), I was blown away by what I had just watched: a work of art, written and directed by six men I had never heard of, that was so sublime I was left breathless for hours, walking into the parking lot in a daze (something only the best films can induce). On a later trip (in the fall), I was profoundly disappointed by what I had just watched: a so-called masterpiece, by one of Hollywood's filmmaking giants, that was so infuriating I grumbled to myself all the way home and couldn’t write a review because I knew it would make me too angry and cause people to think the AKA quoted above.

The first film is easily my favourite film of 2023. It is the subject of the postscript coming early next week. The second film was the number one film of the year for many major film critics but didn’t even get close to my top seventeen. The purpose of this introduction is to let you know why that is.

I have always admired Martin Scorsese. Three of his films (Hugo, The Last Temptation of Christ and The Departed) are on my all-time favourite list. And Killers of the Flower Moon is clearly the work of a master filmmaker, aided by terrific performances from Lily Gladstone, Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro. Killers contains many powerful scenes and I have no doubt that Scorsese is attempting to do something very commendable with his film as he exposes the horrors that white men can inflict on women and Indigenous people. Nevertheless, for me, Killers is a seriously flawed film for two key reasons:

1) The character of Mollie (played by Gladstone). Gladstone has already received a number of major acting awards for this role and I expect her to receive more. Deservedly so - for me, she and Mollie are the highlight of the film. But also the lowlight. Back in the spring, I had no knowledge of the book on which Killers is based, a book I now know was written from the perspective of Mollie. But as I watched the film, I knew without the book that this was a story that needed to be told from Mollie’s perspective. Mollie should have been the protagonist. This is HER story, and the horrific story about HER people (the Osage), one among many such stories that haunt the legacy of white patriarchal colonizers’ treatment of Indigenous communities across North America. As such, it’s a story that simply CANNOT BE TOLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A WHITE MAN. I had no interest whatsoever in the story of Ernest, the white protagonist - I wanted to see Mollie’s story! I recognize that Killers made an effort to let Mollie speak (that’s where the film shone brightest), but that only highlighted the failure of making this film about Ernest. 

2) Critics (including some Indigenous critics) have applauded the involvement of so many Indigenous people in the filmmaking process. Many Indigenous characters are portrayed and all of them are played by Indigenous actors (including greats like Canada’s Tantoo Cardinal). This is a major advance on how Indigenous people were portrayed in much of film’s history and is indeed laudable. But the character development of almost all of these Indigenous people is pathetic, especially when compared to the character development of the white characters (men). The story of the Osage people suffers from a similar lack of development. There is nowhere near enough context provided to tell this story conscientiously and no real mention of the big-picture systemic issues involved. Drawing our attention to an appalling example of the crimes committed against Indigenous people may be laudable, but it is inexcusable to then relegate Indigenous people to the sidelines of their own story, using that story as a backdrop to relate the tale of the white men who committed these nefarious deeds. I should add that the film also generally relegates women to the sidelines of a story in which they play a central role. 

In my opinion, Killers of the Flower Moon is a film that should have been written and directed by Indigenous women telling the story of Indigenous women. Then it could indeed have been the masterpiece many critics claim it to be.

But Vic, you ask, given what you say, shouldn’t such a review come from Indigenous critics? Yes indeed, and after writing most of the above (in October) I sought out such critics. Their thoughts are mixed but I found more who shared my views than opposed them. I am providing a link to a recent article by a Native American journalist (Frank Hopper). I offer two quotes from Hopper’s article here, one of which quotes Christopher Cote, an Osage language consultant for the film who said (at the film’s premiere): “As an Osage, I really wanted this to be from the perspective of Mollie and what her family experienced.”

The second quote is from Hopper: “Hollywood films often guide public perception of important issues, and while a massive cinematic juggernaut like Killers of the Flower Moon can bring needed attention to issues of ongoing injustice on tribal lands, the film deserves scrutiny for how irresponsibly it treats the Native side of the narrative.”

This is the link to Hopper’s article in Yes! Magazine: https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2023/11/06/killers-flower-moon-indigenous-women?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=YESDaily_20240109&utm_content=YESDaily_20240109+CID_59a59f0906cfdeca866c2e347c6b4b19&utm_source=CM&utm_term=Read the full story here

The best book on the subject of making films about Indigenous people, and on the concept of narrative sovereignty, is Unreconciled by Jesse Wente, a First Nations journalist and chairperson of the Canada Council for the Arts.