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After Lord of the Rings e The Chronicles of ice and Fire, the densest book I read was Dune by Frank Herbert. Whether for its broad and deep political plot, for its thought-provoking details or for all the complex layers that permeate the story. That's why it's such an epic book, and I dare say one of the best written during the XNUMXth century. From an examination of Byzantine political gambits to the human propensity for hero worship, Herbert uses the far future as a setting to examine the best and worst aspects of human nature. 10335y
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There are two main themes Herbert explores throughout the novel: ecology and religion. By using the same setting for both, he kept an already lengthy novel from becoming a heavy tome. It's not surprising that the author makes Arrakis (the desert planet that serves as the main setting) a living organism, complete with simple creatures like desert rats, right down to terrifying but awe-inspiring representations of the great worms.
But religion is used as a warning, in particular a warning against humans putting too much temporal power in the hands of a charismatic religious leader. Anyone who has read the book knows that the question left open is precisely the question of whether or not Paul is really this messiah.
Dune is a book about Machiavellian politics. Yes, it's a book about a single resource that turns humanity's wheels, which for us might have been oil, but for our ancestors it might have been salt or iron, gold or silk, and who knows what tomorrow will be. It is a book about environmentalism, ecology, technology and religion as well.
But behind it all is the human truth—fundamental, inevitable, glorious and tragic, perhaps rooted in our genetic code. We call it the 'hero's journey', but note it here as its evil twin, 'hero worship'. In Duna, we witnessed the creation of Muad'Dib. We see it coming, as does Paul Atreides, but like him, we feel powerless to stop it.
My biggest concern with this adaptation would be exactly how they would bring the depth and density of the book to the screen. How they would tie together and present the ideas that are developed in many books in cinematic form. This because Hollywood he came to regard the book as a kind of poisoned chalice. Dune has already toppled two great visionaries: Alejandro Jodorowsky's psychedelic vision collapsed in on itself, while David Lynch's typically absurd vision was reviled by critics.
So it was quite audacious when the Warner decided to recover this film in two parts, putting it in the hands of the French-Canadian Denis Villeneuve.. It was completely worth it, and I was really surprised at how he didn't bother to condense anything. With two and a half hours of film, Villeneuve really unfolds the story in calm and detail. Like this The Fellowship of the Ring, Dune is incredibly introductory, long and dense, and like the book, epic in its own right.
An adaptation that takes the essence of Dune and transforms it 163f3n
Dune de Villeneuve is the sandworm bursting from the darkness below. It is a film of such literal and emotional breadth that it overwhelms the senses. If everyone can understand the magnitude of this feature, then it will be the new epic, as well as Peter Jackson's work on Tolkien's adaptation. In fact, like Jackson, Villeneuve has a certain flexibility in his vision that, in this case, was his saving grace.
And forget about phones or tablets. Villeneuve's mantra for Dune is: go big. Make people want to get out of the house and make a picture worth seeing that is a true epic, a large-scale undertaking worthy of its immense multilevel source material.
The story spans planets and is filled with intricate intrigue, promotes an environmental message (water is so scarce on Arrakis that people must dress in special suits to regain moisture in their bodies to survive), and features immense battle scenes. prepared. A fan of the novel himself, Villeneuve made the film for other fans. But not just for them. He also did this for people who have never read the book. And now they won't. The film captured the book with incredible fidelity.
Dune, then, is firmly grounded in Herbert's book. The author's story of feudal nobles waging war for Arrakis, the sole source of a powerful drug known as a spice, is littered with conflicting ideas that academics are still unraveling today. For Villeneuve, his interests seem to reside primarily in where colonialism and religion collide, specifically in weaponizing belief to control a population.
Villeneuve was successful not only thanks to his inspired mastery of the story's visual elements. He managed to cast an entire powerful cast, which includes not only familiar but talented faces: Zendaya – winner of Emmy Awards, Timothée Chalamet, indicated to Oscar for Best Actor, Oscar Isaac, winner of Golden Globe, Jason Momoa — who is now one of the movie icons with Game of Thrones and DCU in the curriculum, and Rebecca ferguson, who also won the Golden Globe. With these faces Villeneuve not only managed to converge the characters from the book to the screen, but to reach an audience that probably wouldn't have given space to this film.
I confess that I'm not a big fan of Chalamet myself, but, in Duna, he delivers an incredible job. I must say he is exactly what I thought of Paul as he read the books. Paul is a multifaceted character, a youth evolving into adulthood and then beyond that, a divine figure revered by warriors but oppressed by the tribal Fremen of Arrakis. Chalamet surrenders to the role, and is of an incredible subtlety, especially in the moments of more emotion and less speaking.
Centuries before the events described in Herbert's novel, there was an uprising that destroyed all computers. This meant that Patrice Vermette's production work and Jacqueline West's costumes therefore eschewed many of the conventions of futuristic design in favor of something much more archaeological and symbolic. The score by Hans Zimmer — who worked on films such as Interstellar, Batman: The Dark Gentleman, and in the recent 007 No Time to Die, is so full of dread it's terrifying, includes guttural singing and Scottish bagpipes.
But not everything is so perfect in this film, which includes, of course, the lack of representation in the cast. Yes, it has big names, with many talents, but for anyone familiar with the author's work, you know that the Fremen — whose language, dress and culture are so directly inspired by the nomadic and Bedouin Arab tribes — do not feature any Middle Eastern and Western actors. North Africa (Mena) in speaking roles.
Instead, its leader is played by Javier Bardem with a headscarf inspired by shemagh (military scarf typical of Arab armies). This can be a big problem when—and if it's done—the second part. I hope this is revisited in the Fremen casting for the second film.
But anyway, Dune brings a new epic to the current generation, and it works great. An adaptation that sees the soul of the book and manages to convey exactly the feelings we have when reading the work. As a film adaptation, I dare say it is the best made since Hunger Games. Sometimes having a fan at the helm makes all the difference. But not only that, putting a person at the forefront who understands the soul of the book is what made this movie as good as it is.
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If possible, watch this movie on the biggest and best screen available. If you can see it in IMAX, check it out. This is one of those works à la O Regresso, Dunkirk and 1917 that, although still good if viewed at home, gain absurdly when viewed in the best room. Seeing Dune in IMAX is one of those rare immersive experiences, where sight and, it is worth ing, sound, play an essential role in turning the enjoyable feature film into a complete dazzle.
Although an avid reader, I have to confess; I have never read the original Frank Herbert work. The only thing I read were two short texts, without spoilers, with half a dozen information for those who wanted to know one or another point before entering the cinema. My curiosity for the film was partly due to the fact that I know it is a classic of fiction literature and partly because of the director Denis Villeneuve who has already made works like Sicario, Blade Runner 2049 and one of the films I love the most: Arrival. In short: I entered the room without spoilers of the work and almost virgin as that universe; and so I wished, to understand how the film could function as a work in itself.
That said, here are my thoughts on the film itself: breathtaking! From the beginning, I understood that it was a gigantic universe, probably much larger than the one presented to me. Visual delight (something I've come to expect from Villeneuve) has been combined with an absolutely immersive and functional sound experience. And how happy I was to discover Hans Zimmer's signature. But it wasn't all down to the technicalities. I realized, early on, how much the exploitation of that commodity in the desert brought wealth to a group, while subjugating the local population, despite other ecological possibilities of the world - I wouldn't be at all shocked if I found out that Frank Herbert had the exploitation oil in mind when he developed his work -. More than that, it was clear to me how much the guard of this holding and its exchange would be used by the Emperor in order to bring two of the greatest houses on a collision course, so as to ensure that neither of them subjugated his power. It was also clear to me how the Atreides, even perceiving the Trojan horse ahead, could not let go of their obligation, and also how they tried to communicate with the locals, the Fremen, in a more diplomatic than warmongering view. In addition, I was very excited about Paul's future and how his abilities, in part inherited by his mother and her doctrine that works in the shadows, behind the scenes of power, will be explored in the future. By the way, the Duke's son held me from the beginning and I left instigated to know more about his relationship with the woman of his dreams, in a beautiful performance by the young Timothée Chalamet.
If there is something I would have liked to see more of, it was precisely more about the arch-rival house, about the emperor, about this “religious order” operating in the shadows and, in general, about the political rules that govern such a universe. However, I understand the director's decision not to explore these issues so deeply, after all, this feature is just part 1 of a larger project and trying to put everything on screen could be harmful, making the work too expository. I appreciate more the presentation of the universe without so much didacticism from a more episodic situation. A point that may sound controversial and, I imagine, not to everyone's liking, is precisely the contemplative character and the more restrained rhythm. For me, it works incredibly well. I'm a spectator who values diving into a new world much more, taking time for it, centered on character development, than in thousand battles watered with endless CGIs (see an absurd portion of hero movies) used just for quick entertainment and often forgettable.
In short: Duna completely won me over. I'm still curious to discover the second part and even to buy the books. ??? ? ?It is???? ???? ??? ???????? ???? ??? ???? ??? ?????The????? ???????????? ???? ????!