Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, who has the films Sicario: Assassin’s Creed, sci-fi The Arrivals and Blade Runner 2049, has boldly embarked on an adaptation of an extensive original, which is said to be unfilmable. After all, David Lynch did not burn much on it in 1984, nor did the series from 2000 be a great success, and Alejandra Jodorowski’s production did not succeed at all.
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From this point of view, the current Dune is certainly the most successful, yet it does not arouse clear enthusiasm.
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Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel, the first part of which Villeneuve adapted (two should sometimes follow), takes place on the planet Arrakis, known as the Dune. It is a sunburned desert, where it is almost impossible to live, but there is a great wealth, a rare spice of melange. It has a number of excellent features, including the fact that it facilitates intergalactic travel and adds special capabilities to its users.
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The locals who are able to survive in the desert are called Fremen. And then there are a lot of differently quarreling families who strive for spice and thus for domination. After all, as in any film of that kind.
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What is important is the Harkonnens, who have ruled the desert planet so far. Now, however, he leaves this right to Duke Let Atreides, who has no idea that it is a trap. His teenage and visionary son Paul is a promising successor, but so far he is very young, vulnerable and has to mature into his future role. Timothée Chalamet expresses it all very precisely, and just as Paul is the most interesting character, so Chalamet is the most interesting actor in the whole film, because in both of them there is a promise for the future.
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For those who haven’t read the book, played a computer game, and enjoyed Lynch’s Dune, it will probably be quite difficult to orient themselves in headline-sounding names and terminology, as well as in plots and relationships, so they will easily succumb to the most superficial approaches: these are probably worthy and these evil. And when he finally gets his bearings and begins to enjoy the story, it’s over. And a sequel sometime next time.
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The deeper social and ecological dimension is evident, but unfortunately there is also an increasingly unpleasant finding that everything is played seriously, without the slightest trace of oversight. It’s always a bit boring, and Dune is no exception. But those who orient themselves in advance in the story, characters and plots will certainly enjoy Duna with everything and perhaps even appreciate the ecological line.
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Technically, nothing can be said about the film. About $ 160 million can indeed be seen on it, the scenery is intoxicating with the light that transforms them every now and then, despite the almost exclusively desert environment, and the austerity of the shapes. Space machines seem to be returning to machines from the history of the sci-fi genre, as well as the slow pace that is far removed from today’s usual spectacular battles (there is only one) and fast-paced action.
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The cast is top notch, but Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem don’t have much to show, because there aren’t many opportunities for a big acting in the film, and the masks sometimes completely cover the face, and therefore the facial expressions.
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Duna will undoubtedly fulfill the fans’ expectations. For other spectators, it will be an opulent spectacle with a somewhat boring and, in fact, shallow plot.
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| Danube |
| USA 2021, 155 min. Director: Dennis Villeneuve, starring: Timothée Chalamet, Stellan Skarsgard, Josh Brolin, Rebecca Ferguson and others |
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