Villeneuve, new prophet of SF

I’ve been waiting for this moment for three years. Three years of dreaming of seeing the sequel Dune, whose release scheduled for November 2023 has been postponed to March 2024. The heart beats from the first minutes of the film, which picks up the thread of the story exactly where the first part ended. Especially since pretty much all the reviews that started coming out called it a masterpiece.

Although I have read and reread the novel, seen and rewatched David Lynch’s 1984 film, and the first ten times DuneDenis Villeneuve managed to surprise me with Dune: Part Two, despite my stratospheric expectations. I didn’t have enough eyes for this large-scale spectacle – which you absolutely must see on an IMAX screen – and the 2 hours 40 minutes of the feature film seemed short to me. If the cinemas offer a marathon with both parts, I buy a ticket, for sure.

Whether you have read Dune or not, whether you like science fiction or not, the filmmaker offers above all an incredible cinema experience here. Many people say that the genre will never be the same after Villeneuve, who will join Kubrick, Spielberg, Scott, etc. in the pantheon. They are right.

It already bore by its name, Villeneuve, new town, the promise of renewal. We had the intuition with Arrival, his first sci-fi film, in which the ships had a completely different shape than what we are used to. For Blade Runner 2049, he had the constraint of respecting the iconography of Ridley Scott’s classic. With Dunehe confirms that he is a new prophet of SF in cinema, the one who shows the wayas the Fremen would say… Villeneuve plans to adapt another classic of science fiction literature, Meet with Rama, by Arthur C. Clarke, and frankly, I can’t think of anyone other than him to accomplish this feat of showing me this mysterious cylindrical vessel that has haunted me for years.

For my generation, the visual of sci-fi was very much defined by Star Wars (which actually stole a lot of ideas from Dune by Frank Herbert) or Alien, but after about forty years of seeing characters running in rather similar corridors of ships filled with bolts and pipes, I was a little tired, and I don’t like the superhero films that have invaded the screens since a decade. With Dunewe are completely elsewhere, finally.

Villeneuve imposed his cinematographic language on Frank Herbert’s novel, as Kubrick imposed his on the novel. The Shining by Stephen King. And it’s a much darker vision than I expected. We must never forget that futuristic stories always speak about our present, deep down. Villeneuve offers us here a majestic fable on fanaticism, polarization, identity, the economy, colonialism and the environment, with a maturity that is often lacking in this genre, where we sink into the orgy of special effects to hide the weakness of the scenario. Yes, there is more action in Dune: Part Two, but that’s not even what we remember. Rather, we are carried away with Paul Atreides as he struggles against the terrifying destiny he foresees. Like most of the “divine elect”, he does not want this mission, but all around him, people hope that he will be the Lisan al-Gaib (first the hilarious Stilgar, who sees signs everywhere). I have rarely seen such a messianic breath in a film, such an illustration of the power of faith over minds.

And it’s a Quebec filmmaker, also surrounded by a few Quebec artisans, who is in the process of redefining Western science fiction cinema, even if he speaks English with a razor-sharp accent. Like any good prophet, he surrounded himself with disciples and Villeneuve found his Giger in Patrice Vermette or his John Williams in Hans Zimmer. The director could not have brought his vision to fruition without the contribution of the best in their professions. The sound, the music, the sets, the costumes, the cinematography, everything about this film is breathtaking. I was so impressed with the artistic work on Dune: Part Two that I forgot the story, which I already know. I almost cried at the beauty and harshness of Arrakis, who carved the soul of the Fremen people. I was finally on Dune, and the image that Villeneuve gave me surpasses the one I had in mind since reading the novel a long time ago. So much so that I forgive him for the sometimes very daring liberties he took with the original story.

Science fiction cinema was fundamental to my cinephilia, in the same way as the films of Pierre Perrault or François Truffaut. Getting off this planet, going into space, projecting yourself into the future, it’s unbeatable with a good popcorn to escape from this sometimes overwhelming existence. See AND, by Steven Spielberg, at the age of 12 changed my life, because afterwards, I couldn’t live without cinema. I dare to believe that the diptych Dune de Villeneuve, which will perhaps turn into a trilogy if not more, will have the same effect on a new generation of spectators who should take a break from video games and let themselves be dazzled by the seventh art. This is the grace I wish for them.

Read Manon Dumais’ review of Dune: Part Two : “Waiting for the Messiah”

In theaters on 1^er March, some cinemas offer performances on February 29.