So, I was …Duned!
I didn’t understand 30% of the film because it was in tongues that didn’t exist in Frank Herbert’s book. In Dune book saga there is NOT even a hint for a Caladan (Atreidis home planet) language, or Giedi (Harkonnen home planet) language and I have no idea why Denis Villeneuve felt that he should create …languages where the actual author and two more directors didn’t even think about it.
You will probably wander about subtitles. Of course there were subtitles but in a language I barely understand and only when words remind me German! So I still have to wait for the streaming version to fully understand it!
But let’s get to the …silver screen.
The photography was brilliant at least, and it deserves whatever awards film photographers get. Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya were also good and there is hope there for a bright future. I also liked Javier Bardem and of course –how could I not- emperor Christopher Walken. In general most of the cast was good to very good.
Frank Herbert’s book is one of the most influential sci-fi books ever and it stands high-up there with Jules Verne, Arthur Clark and Isaac Asimov. You can also see its influence even with the contemporary televised bestseller, George R. R. Martin’ “Game of the thrones”. So, there are millions all around the world who have read it and know -for example- who the navigators are and their role in the plot of Dune. Millions have seen 1984 David Lynch’s film version and some tens of thousands of sci-fi fans have watched the TV series with William Hurt. Sooooo the plot of Dune is not exactly a secret.
However, Denis Villeneuve had inherited the bad critics of David Lynch’s version (including his often and publicly mentioned personal disappointment) and the reputation Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” enjoyed for decades that it is impossible to make it a film and despite William Hurt’s participation, the three part TV adaption didn’t help much either to that reputation.
Still, it was the Dune! So, when Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One came to the cinemas was a revelation. It was good. Respectful to the book, solid time line, fantastic photography, good directing, impressive Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya, good Rebecca Ferguson and Stellan Skarsgård in the roles of Lady Jessica Atreides and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen respectfully. The key word here is solid. It was a solid first part of a story that could be in three parts (like the Hobbit), with solid directing and solid time line. Even the most fanatics of the Dune saga loved it and this definitely built up great expectations.
And then came Dune: Part Two making it duology, not the expected trilogy and while Chalamet and Zendaya were good and photography still brilliant …solid was missing. Ignoring many parts of the book’s timelines and focusing in Paul Atreides and Chani’s love scenes and love quarrels, what Villeneuve gave me for part two was a jigsaw puzzle with pieces splatter all around including pieces from other jigsaw puzzles, with pieces, important pieces, very important pieces missing.
Denis Villeneuve created a film for the contemporary generational audience (generation x,y,z,w, whatever) who have never heard and definitely not read the book. A Dune where hunger games met game of the thrones, missing the spider man. What Villeneuve really did -to me at least, was to definitely appreciate David Lynch’s 40 years-old Dune and therefore when I got back home the same evening, I watched it again and i did enjoy it!
P.S. Since we are talking about books moving to screens, Shōgun has much better and definitely more solid plot, fantastic photography, solid time line and a director respectful to the book.
The Ovi 