Delayed for nearly a year due to the pandemic, Duna is already performing in theaters across the country. The sci-fi epic was eagerly awaited by fans of Frank Herbert’s book series as early as the mid-1960s. One of the most influential and important stories in science fiction and pop culture .
It belonged to Denis Villeneuve, Canadian filmmaker responsible for recent blockbusters such as Blade Runner 2049 and A Chegada, with the mission of bringing to the cinema a complex story that involves many characters and a series of fanciful elements, disputes between rival houses. for control of the planet Arrakis, the journey of a messianic-toned hero, a religious order full of mysteries and, of course, the desires for power and control of the universe.
There are so many details, nomenclatures and narrative lines that Villeneuve preferred to adapt only half of Duna’s first book – to unfold in another series of other volumes that greatly expand the mythology created by the author. American. Many other films should follow the franchise because what we find in this first feature film is the beginning of the rise of Paul Atréides (Timothée Chalamet), son of Duke Leto Atréides (Oscar Isaac). Head of one of the Empire’s most influential families, Leto begins the film by being summoned to rule the coveted planet Arrakis.
It is there, in the middle of a desert landscape, where temperatures are extremely high during the day and where there is a great scarcity of water, where the precious spice is generated, a substance mixed with the sands of the desert that confers to individuals powers of expansion of consciousness and mental capacities. It also enables interstellar travel, making it a very important commodity for the Empire.
The biggest problem is that the desert is inhabited by gigantic creatures that live underground in the dunes, similar to large earthworms with threatening mouths and ravenous hunger. In addition, on Arrakis live the Fremen, people of the desert who rebelled against the powers that be and live as nomadic refugees in their own territory; they are skilful fighters and holders of ancestral knowledge. They make recurrent use of the spice and that is why they have blue eyes.
genesis of the hero
None of this, however, would make sense in terms of legendary storytelling without the presence of a hero. Paul Atreides is one of these bets and his character takes on the air of Messiah, because there is an ancient prophecy that predicts the arrival of a powerful being able to master space-time and save the people from domination and the oppression.
In addition to belonging to the noble lineage of the Atreides house, he is also the son of Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), a priestess belonging to the order of Bene Gesserit, an order of women, considered to be witches, who have a great power to influence the Empire due to their magical skills and special training.
Duna is therefore surrounded not only by political quarrels and armed conflicts between rival groups, but also by a religious dimension with a mythical feel. In this environment, Paul seeks to understand himself as belonging to this particular lineage and already possesses certain specific abilities, such as strange dreams and visions of possible future events that suddenly appear to him.
He was also trained by his mother in the Bene Gesserit doctrine, something limited to women (the order is exclusively female), and with this he also masters the Voice, a kind of magical technique that allows people to to obey his orders by the force of the spirit. If the hero is here a central figure, it is curious to see how the mother figure will be fundamental for the character in his career.
Long trip
All of these idiosyncrasies make Dune an epic work that deserves an adaptation to match its value as science fiction and as a work of enormous influence for what has followed – from Star Trek to Star Wars and even Game Of Thrones.
This attempt, moreover, was made a long time ago. In the 1970s, Chilean director Alejandro Jodorowsky had the rights to adapt the book, but production was never completed – the filmmaker, already known for his works in mystical tones and surreal colors, had some crazy ideas for the film, with the pretension of simulating the hallucination effect. of LSD in the public thanks to innovative visual inventions. The movie wasn’t made, but Jodorowsky’s documentary Dune breaks that story down nicely.
But the adaptation saw the light of day in 1984, at the hands of famous David Lynch, another filmmaker linked to surrealism and formal inventions. His Duna, however, has a more commercial appeal, different from what he had done until then, despite the extravagant look and raw special effects, being a failure at the time.
Only now, with the advancement of current effects technology, Duna gets a great cinematic version and with a more realistic and serious take as part of the legendary sci-fi. The film is a visual spectacle that will delight fans of the series to reconstruct this very special universe.
To a certain extent, the plot is less exciting than what it sells and compared to all those sci-fi and fantasy franchises that have been produced in recent years. It’s important to remember that since the book Duna predates all of this movement – and the rise of successful pop cinema in the late 1970s – the work itself has a rhythm and a very specific cadence.
In this sense, Villeneuve’s adaptation work follows the path of fidelity to the original material and, in particular, to the creation not only of this mythology full of minutiae, but also to the shaping of an atmosphere. of tension caused by political confrontations and power spells. at stake. It’s not an easy task, but the director is doing very well in this regard.
It is true that this first film functions as an introduction to the world of Dune and can seem confusing for many, sometimes very didactic. Paul’s relationship with the Fremen, for example, especially with young Chani (played by Zendaya), is only just beginning, as are many other conflicts that take place here. The journey seems long.
Duna (Dune, 2021) / Dir. : Denis Villeneuve / Com Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa / Rooms and times: atarde.uol.com.br/cinema
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