For most people, the word myth designates a fictional story that, in the best of cases, serves as entertainment or a vehicle for some type of teaching. The professors highlight its cultural value, as if it were an x-ray of a distant time. For the school of Deep Analytical Psychology, it represents an inexhaustible source of knowledge and the royal road to delineate a part of the unfading archetypal content that rests in the collective unconscious. Joseph Campbell will maintain that its ultimate goal is teleological. María Tatar will propose the need to deconstruct and reinterpret the myth so that it adapts to modernity. All these visions, although they are extremely useful, tend to overlook the Traditional definition that Mircea Eliade exposes in Myth and Reality: “Myth designates a true story, and what is more, a story of inestimable value, because it is sacred.” , exemplary and significant (…) primordial revelation, exemplary model set by the founding gods and heroes.”
Seeing it from this perspective, myth is revealed to us as something extremely powerful: it is the founding stone of religions, mystery schools, sects and leaders (from the dawn of humanity to the sun of today). What happens when the borders between the sacred and the profane are blurred? How dangerous is it for a myth to twist into prophecy? How can we differentiate between ideation and revelation? These are some of the questions that we ask. leaves us Dune: Part Two, the new installment of this award-winning trilogy by Denis Villeneuve and one of the most anticipated titles of 2024.
The story begins shortly after the end of Dune (2021) with Paul Atreides (Timothée Chálamet) trying to adapt to the culture of the Fremen on the desert planet Arrakis. Accompanied by his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) and dealing with the prejudices of the place, our protagonist must face a series of tests (life or death) to prove that he can be a worthy warrior. A very complicated task, but feasible thanks to the help of Chani (Zendaya), one of the young women in the town, with whom Paul begins to develop a romantic relationship. In parallel, the ruthless Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård) sends his terrible nephew Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) to constantly attack the Fremen with the ultimate goal of corroborating the extinction of House Atreides. Things get complicated when Stilgar (Javier Bardem), one of the leaders of Arrakis, begins to spread the idea in the town that Paul is the Messiah of an ancient prophecy that aims to liberate Arrakis. A myth that is fueled by Jessica and that will force Paul to make a series of decisions so that he becomes the leader of a powerful revolution.
Just as Dune was dedicated to presenting the structures of political and social power, Dune: Part Two focuses on the religious and mythological substrate that animates the faith of an oppressed people in very poor living circumstances. You don’t have to be a prophet or have read the novel for the result to be obvious: we are facing a pressure cooker fueled by a society where fundamentalism, messianic delusions, the consumption of entheogens, political manipulation, the game of power around the exploitation of natural resources and fantasies of a holy war are the order of the day.
Of course, the parallels with our current times are more than terrifying and this makes the script of this installment feel much more complex and rich in subtext than its predecessor. Written by Denis Villeneuve (Incendies, Dune) and Jon Spaihts (Dune, Prometheus, Doctor Strange), Dune: Part Two takes advantage of being a sequel and starting from the premise that the viewer is already familiar with the world it presents. In this way, the story does not spend time on world building and focuses on developing much more Fremen culture, the intrigues around power and the relationships between characters. This results in a story with a much more dynamic pace, almost free of expository dialogue, and which allows much more exploration of Paul’s inner journey. Finally, and without any spoilers, the closing of this installment is almost round and does not end in a cliffhanger as uncomfortable as that of Dune (whose main criticism is its abrupt ending).
The direction of Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, Sicario, Dune) in this installment is in all its splendor. Beyond its characteristic imprint (full of perfectly composed shots, stylized camera movements, sequences full of tension and imposing locations), the film advances in crescendo with a rhythm that is never lost among the extreme changes of register that it develops. the story (political thriller, science fiction, mystical delirium, hand-to-hand fights, war shootouts and Shakespearean drama with light doses of romance). Thanks to the precision of Villeneuve’s staging and his wonderful cast, he makes completely eccentric characters—and who could easily be ridiculous caricatures—feel terribly real and dangerous. The solemnity of the dunes of Arrakis, the intrigues in the hallway, mysterious priestesses, enormous coliseums, spaceships, fundamentalist warriors, apocalyptic visions, Machiavellian emperors, psychopathic heirs, heroes with delusions of grandeur, manipulative mothers and even a talking fetus: all These completely heterogeneous elements—and many more—fit perfectly into the visual mosaic that its director builds, hypnotizing us with the diversity of the world of Dune, but without ever taking us out of the mood of the story.
Of course, next to Villeneuve we have the entire creative team that swept the 2022 Academy Awards in the technical categories. On this occasion, cinematography Greig Fraser (The Batman, The Creator, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Foxcatcher) raises the bar in his visual beauty and technical expertise. From the sequence with the sandworm, through the black and white coliseum, to exploring the entire color palette of the desert, Fraser makes each frame of Dune: Part Two coherent in its look and feel even though it has completely heterogeneous locations. in color and light. The production design by Patrice Vermette (Arrival, Enemy, Prisoners, Vice) explores more “rudimentary” spaces than in the first installment, but without losing the science fiction setting or falling into the common places of the genre. Thanks to the previous work on Dune, here the visual personality of the story is fully consolidated and all the new locations fit seamlessly into the imprint of the universe. As if that were not enough, Vermette includes some veiled references to other science fiction and fantasy titles without breaking the aesthetic unity of the film (something that will be the delight of moviegoers).
Another key and revered point in Dune: Part Two is the editing of Joe Walker (Arrival, Sicario, The Creator). Relying on synthetic montage to squeeze out the expressiveness of each painting (which seems almost inexhaustible thanks to its impeccable aesthetics and composition), Walker manages to achieve the perfect balance between tension and contemplation. At the same time, he builds the dynamism of the story using parallel editing (moving from one plot to another, inserting visions or changing dramatic register), without having to resort to external devices such as rhythmic editing. Finally, the music of award-winning Hans Zimmer (Inception, Interstellar, The Dark Night) continues to explore other versions of the themes created for Dune, placing emphasis on compositions where Middle Eastern voices are mixed with chords that resonate with science fiction ( where the epic/magical/imperial/religious feeling is the order of the day in a perennial tension).
The performances of the cast, as in Dune, are wonderful. Timothée Chálamet’s evolution as Paul is quite palpable, going from insecure warrior, young man in love to
Messiah in hubris. His transition into the sphere of power is completely organic and the action sequences he has (especially the hand-to-hand fights) are very well choreographed. Unlike the previous installment, here Zendaya does have a lot of screen time. Her performance follows the same line as the characters she usually plays: the tough, independent girl who falls in love with a boy who she wants to take care of, but without showing too much of her emotionality (a kind of tsundere). Record that works perfectly, but that is nothing new in her career. Rebecca Ferguson, as always, is one of the best things in the movie. Here she brings out her darkest and most manipulative side, transforming into a kind of witch who, at times, eclipses any other villain in history. Like a sort of Lady Macbeth she wields her power behind the scenes and her character keeps us hooked, suspecting her every move. Javier Bardem serves as a mentor and comic relief with specific interventions that, with laughter, allow us to approach the topic of religious fanaticism with caution. Stellan Skarsgård and Dave Bautista continue playing dangerous and detestable characters, but the one who steals the show is Austin Butler who plays the best antagonist of the entire saga (and who seduces us with just a few minutes on screen). In the same way, the appearances of Florence Pugh, Léa Seydoux and Christopher Walken are punctual, but extremely powerful, keeping us hypnotized by their performance and the decisions of their characters.
Dune: Part Two raises the bar of the first installment, becoming one of the best films of modern science fiction. Denis Villeneuve did with Frank Herbert’s work what Peter Jackson did with Tolkien or Francis Ford Coppola with Puzo: a perfect adaptation that enriches the original text with its images. While Dune focused on political intrigue and the different houses interacting for power (in the vein of Game of Thrones), this installment is dedicated to developing the worldview of the Fremen and the religious complexities they embody (divided between agnostics and fundamentalists). Through the construction of the myth of the Messiah that Paul embodies, we see the complex—and dangerous—dynamics between religion and politics. Using prophecy to elevate a “foreigner” to the category of Messiah (anointed by God), the desert dunes of Arrakis appear closer to us than we would like. Fears surrounding fanaticism, holy war, manipulation Politics, nuclear power and fantasies of an omnipotent Savior who changes the balance in the political game continue to be the order of the day in our news. As Patrick Harpur said, “the world we see is the myth we are in.” ” and Dune: Part Two confronts us with a devastating question… who really has the power?: the one who embodies the myth or those who build it?
The best: the rhythm it maintains from beginning to end. His readings around religious fanaticism and politics. The duo Villeneuve and Fraser make each painting an impressive spectacle. The twists of the script and the “round” closing unlike the previous one.
The bad: having to wait 2 or 3 years for the final chapter of the trilogy. Although the film stands on its own, if you don’t remember much from the first one you may miss important things in the plot. They did the same thing to Anya Taylor-Joy as Zendaya did in part one.
