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Dune, USA/Canada, 2021. Directed by D. Villeneuve, written with J. Spaihts, E. Roth (based on the novel by Frank Herbert). With Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Stellan Skarsgård, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Dave Bautista, Zendaya. Original music by H. Zimmer. Length: 155′. Rated: PG-13

Dreams make good stories, but everything important happens when we’re awake.

PLOT

It’s a distant future, we’re somewhere in the midst of the universe. On planet Arrakis life is harsh but its importance lies in the immense desert of which it almost fully consists: on the surface of the oceans of sand there is the most important substance of the universe, the so-called ‘spice’. The Atreides family is charged with its defense and administration, but this will be just the beginning of a much larger family feud and the start of an incredible adventure for the young Atreides heir, Paul. 

REVIEW

And so it begins, as the tagline says.
We were all incredibly curious about this long-lasting production by Denis Villeneuve. The result… is much less clear than many could have predicted.

Let’s start by saying that the mise-en-scene is one of the greatest, most ambitious and incredibly photographed by Villeneuve, together with his Patrice Vermette (Production Designer) and Greig Fraser (Cinematographer).
The planets are immediately recognizable, the buildings and the surroundings are meticulously designed. It might not be a totally uninfluenced work, as for the most part James Cameron’s “Avatar” was, as we can seek-and-find some references to all the previous sci-fi cinema (“Star Wars” above all). The hidden masterpiece I recognize in this movie was done in the ‘spice’ design: this substance is really part of the sand, though lying on the surface; it’s visible, but intertwined with the grains of sand. Also, an extremely impacting work, as scary as they are, has been done on the sand-worms, the unrivaled dominators of Arrakis: when they attack, they are a real doom, so gigantic and majestic with their thousands of teeth.

The only problem with this movie is that… it’s a “chapter one”. True, the intent is specifically declared in the title-animation at the beginning of the movie, and it was essential to give the audience the time to understand the universe as it is presented, assess the characters in their complexity, comprehend the entire system of values and philosophical/religious standards of the society. But as the time passes, though enjoyable, it becomes clearer and clearer that we are about to see something even greater, that the adventure is only about to start, that there are infinite new complications that might happen to the characters… and there they are, the end credits.
I mean, the climax of the ending is a great one, it really stands there to make us want to see the next chapter minutes later – with maybe just a quick break after 2, 5 hours of undivided attention required to follow the plot while fitting it into the full new world – but at the same time the aftertaste of the projection was that of a wonderful, though at times redundant, prologue.

In this amazingly starry cast, some word could be spent on anyone, as it’s difficult to find someone out of range, everyone seems extremely close.
Just a few notes then, particularly on Timothée Chalamet. The young French-American actor, after his breakthrough in “Call me by your name”, has a bright future ahead; my personal opinion, though, is not completely aligned with most part of the International audience: in this movie he seems still a bit sour, and as he’s the main character and we see him for a very long time on the screen, one could hope for something more in the way of that empathy that the hero of the story should create with the viewer. 
On the other hand, Rebecca Ferguson was more centered than ever in her protective mother role, just as Oscar Isaac was in his fatherly care for family and its future. In particular I must cite Javier Bardem, as I think this character with an undefined position between good and bad is what really suits him, and Jason Momoa, who benefits from Villeneuve’s directing skills to finally show us that he is, indeed, a real actor. 

What shall I say of Hans Zimmer? Well, almost nothing.
I’d say really nothing, as his expertise and his musical magnificence is common knowledge, but this particular score is even louder than his usual works, more noisy than musical sometimes. He chose to underline the spaceships, the monsters, the loud ecosystem more than following with a proper score, which is coherent but, at times, excessive. 

In the end, what else is there to say apart from putting off the judgment when we see the – hopefully even more grandiose – second chapter? I guess that, Villeneuve’s visual capacity was only confirmed by this movie: differently than “Blade Runner 2049” or “Arrival”, there will be much more to say about “Dune”… the universe – almost literally – awaits.