On September 16, Denis Villeneuve's fantastic film Dune, based on the novel of the same name by Frank Herbert, was widely released in Russia. The main role in the film was played by Timothy Chalamet, known for the projects "Little Women", "Call Me by Your Name" and "Lady Bird". Also involved in the film are Rebecca Ferguson (Doctor Sleep), Oscar Isaac (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Aquaman), Zendea (The Greatest Showman), Stellan Skarsgard ( Breaking the Waves ”,“ Pirates of the Caribbean ”,“ Chernobyl ”), Javier Bardem (“ No Country for Old Men ”,“ Vicky Cristina Barcelona ”,“ Escobar ”) and other movie stars.
Dune is set in the distant future. People have settled in different planets and are fighting for power. The most valuable substance in the Universe is mined on Arrakis - melange or spice. It not only significantly improves thinking and prolongs the life of people, but is also used for space travel.
For a long time, the planet was in the possession of the Harkonnen family.
They practically ruined it, not caring about the well-being of the local population - the Fremen.
By the will of the emperor, Arrakis passes to the House of Atreides, led by Duke Leto.
He is also interested in the extraction of spices, but at the same time plans to establish contacts with the Fremen and improve their quality of life.
However, the Harkonnens are not ready to put up with the loss of access to a valuable resource and begin an open enmity with the new masters of the planet.
The heir to the Atreides, Paul (played by Shalame), goes to Arrakis with his family.
There he will have to find a common language with the Fremen and prepare for battle.
Shot from the film "Dune"
© kinopoisk.ru
The Dune Chronicle literary cycle includes six novels. Denis Villeneuve's film covers part of the events described in the first book. During the first minutes of the tape, viewers get a general idea of the structure of Herbert's universe. They are told what melange is, why it is needed, and what is the essence of the main conflict. The key points necessary to understand what is happening on the screen are explained further - throughout most of the picture. This happens very laconically and unobtrusively, but at the same time constructively - with the help of a voiceover or in well-thought-out character dialogues. As a result, even viewers who have not read the novel and have no idea about the universe will figure out the plot.
However, to fans of the work of Frank Herbert, this interpretation of the story may seem too modest.
The tape included only the main episodes, a lot was left behind the scenes.
As a result, it is impossible to get an exhaustive picture of the vast world presented on the pages of books from the film.
In addition, the exclusion from the plot, albeit not the most exciting, but important scenes, made it difficult for viewers to understand the thoughts and motives of the characters.
It is impossible to feel the emotions of the heroes and begin to sincerely empathize with them during a significant part of the film - the characters seem flat and alien.
And some of their actions with this approach to disclosure of characters can raise questions.
The formulation of the project raises similar questions.
Naturally, the authors of the tape paid a lot of attention to the demonstration of technology and unusual "technologies of the future."
However, such episodes often look somewhat autonomous - there is a vehicle the size of a movie screen, and no one and nothing interacts with it.
In general, the film will not surprise with its scale.
For some unknown reason, filmmakers often preferred close-ups.
This even applies to those episodes in which I would like to focus on the on-screen embodiment of the fictional world and consider it in detail.
So, instead of enjoying the unusual atmosphere of the universe, the viewer will once again have to watch the drops of sweat flowing down the face of Timothy Chalamet.
Shot from the film "Dune"
© kinopoisk.ru
Certainly, some episodes were a success by the filmmaker.
For example, the desert inhabitants - giant worms - and all the scenes with their participation turned out to be very spectacular and frightening.
However, many more episodes look unexpectedly mundane and boring.
Even rare fights could not fix the situation - they were staged well, but Paul Atreides is so clearly shown from behind that thoughts about using stuntmen immediately arise and all the magic of cinema is destroyed.
The lack of entertainment and vivid emotions on the screen, the filmmakers managed to partially compensate for by competent work with sound.
The film features the music of the Oscar-winning Hans Zimmer, whose work can also be heard in the films Inception, Interstellar, The Lion King, Sherlock Holmes, The Dark Knight and many others.
Interesting musical accompaniment and an abundance of various sounds sometimes too obviously hints to the audience about how they should feel in scenes in which the picture was not convincing enough. However, it still helps the filmmakers to create the necessary tension and the audience to immerse themselves in the atmosphere of the film.
Compared to the original source, Villeneuve's Dune is utterly simple. However, to all appearances, this film is only a very long, more than two and a half hours' set-up. The plot only leads the viewer to events that promise to be much brighter and, possibly, spectacular (at least, the intriguing final scene gives such hope). It is possible that in the future, the characters will be revealed properly, and the universe of Frank Herbert will sparkle with new colors. The main thing is for this continuation to take place: its fate primarily depends on the reaction of a wide audience to the first part.