Movie Review SSJ

On March 8, the second part of Dune, which has been dormant for three years, finally met the audience.

This famous director, star-studded, with the sci-fi world “Lord of the Rings” called the big IP, in the first box office Waterloo, finally opened the “God” road. Into the pit of this sci-fi epic masterpiece, we must start from its independent worldview and narrative system. These ten details you do not know, will help you from shallow to deep, from the concept, to the background, to the idea, to understand the future of the fantasy world.

Detail 1: What goes around comes around
Dune is not an empty world, but a future world where human civilization is highly developed, but “what goes around comes around”, and the social system and productive forces return to the old times.

The reason for this “regression” is the fear of the awakening of artificial intelligence. Once, after human beings had colonized various galaxies, an AI named “Omnius” awakened its mind and super computing power. This led to a two-century-long war between man and machine, the “Butlerian Jihad,” in which mankind won and banned AIs altogether.

So, unlike the aliens in Star Wars, who share a common Terran ancestry, you can understand that the fiefdoms of these various clans are various planets in the movie.

Detail 2: Spice
The first setting you receive upon entering the world of Dune is “Whoever controls the spice, controls the universe.”

This phrase is very familiar, as if it were “Whoever controls oil controls the planet.” However, in the world of Dune, “spice” is a more advanced, precious, and magical resource than oil.

Because the “spice” here is not curry or pepper, but a drug that can prolong life, drive navigation, increase physical performance, influence and control the human mind, and enhance the ability of the brain. We have already seen in the movie, the protagonist Paul can be ingested through the spice, access to supernatural power, and then has a strong computing power, you can get close to AI, extract information from the fragments of the possibility of calculations, and thus “predict the future”.

Therefore, in this period, the strength of science and technology is mainly reflected in the invention of some machinery and weapons, and the core pursuit of human beings is to enhance their own physical ability, strengthen the spirit and brain power. But ingesting too much spice will also make the appearance become less and less human.

Dune takes place on Erakos, the only desert planet that is rich in spice. These “new humans” of various powers spend their lives defending their people, their beliefs, and competing for the spice.

Detail 3: The Spectacle
The director of the Dune series, Denis Villeneuve, who did The Descent, Blade Runner, is one of Hollywood’s most personal directors.

After watching his works, it is not difficult to realize that this is a director who is fond of giant objects and wonders. The spaceship standing between heaven and earth, the sandworm that can devour everything, the vast and boundless desert, together with Hans Timmer’s soundtrack, this strong visual tension makes it impossible for people to hide in it.

This filming technique is inherited from the famous American director Terrence Malick, who shot “The Thin Red Line”. The extreme depiction of the spectacle by the “Malick” style lens is not only an inner shock, but also an impact on the soul, which allows people to think deeply about the existence of the self in the process of watching the movie.

Detail 4: Creature
In the two Dune movies, the sandworm and the gerbil “Muad’dib” are the two most eye-catching strange creatures.

At the same time, these two creatures are also the ultimate “contrast between the big and the small” and the contrast of power.

The sandworm, known to the Fremen as the “Lord of the Desert”, is by far the most visible creature in the Dune movie. At nearly 500 meters in length and with a bloody mouth, it is feared, but can be conquered.

In Dune 2, viewers get to see Paul successfully turn sandworms into mounts, symbolizing not only the great initiative of mankind, but also proving that Paul has taken an important step on his path to leadership and has been officially accepted by the desert.

But at the same time, Paul’s new name, again, comes from the Muad’dib, the desert’s tiny gerbil. This gerbil is not even a match for humans, but it can find its own water, even guide the light and direction, and not only possesses the wisdom of the “great”, but also deserves the title of “king of survival” in the desert.

He has conquered the “big” and at the same time possesses the “small”. The mastery of power and at the same time have a solid ground under the feet. This is not only the wisdom of survival in the world of dunes, but also the philosophy of leadership.

Detail 5: “Water”

If spice is the resource that soldiers in Dune must fight for, then water, is the most precious resource in the world of Dune. The natives of this planet can’t even understand that on Earth, water can fall from the sky.

So you can see in Dune 2 that a man’s flesh belongs to him, but water belongs to the whole tribe. The Fremen are perpetually dressed in a distillation suit that preserves the maximum amount of water in their bodies and sustains the most basic survival of these fleshly mortals in the desert.

One cannot cry or vomit, as this would waste the water in the body. After one’s death, the water in the body needs to be drawn out and the soul returned to the holy pool, and this holy water, which represents life and existence, cannot be drunk even if one dies of thirst.

Another important “water” is the blue “water of life”, which is a highly toxic substance secreted by young sandworms when they are drowned. This “poison” can give a person the ability to predict the future systematically, but only members of the Sisterhood and their bloodline can dissolve the toxin. More often than not, the “water of life” represents a visualization of power.

The last imagery of “water” is that of the “desert spring,” the native name of Paul’s girlfriend, Cheyenne, the heroine of Dune, in her hometown. This name represents a beautiful imagination and blessing, but also represents a heavy responsibility. For the dashing and uninhibited heroine, it is undoubtedly a kind of shackle. Therefore, she prefers the name Cheyney.

Detail 6: Duel
Dune is a story that maximizes classical beauty, so in it, we can also see the legacy of many traditional European customs, the most notable of which is dueling.

There are many viewers criticized for this, saying that the sci-fi imagination of “Dune” is limited, in the first part, the early part of the show so much counter-intuitive technology, the last battle is surprisingly returned to the cold weapon period, or 1V1 struggle. Of course both “Star Wars” and “Dune”, for the love of cold weapon dueling, in fact, are the embodiment of classical beauty.

A famous scene of cinematic aesthetics in Dune 2 is the bar mitzvah of Harkonnen family newcomer Phaedrusa. The director very boldly gave up the post-toning scheme and directly used infrared cameras to shoot the images of the gladiatorial arena, presenting an extremely shocking primitive beastliness and wildness, using the colors of classical drama to strengthen the gloom and grotesque under totalitarian rule, and making the story of Dune even more historically weighty.

Detail 7: Family and Power
Through two movies, the blueprint of the story of Dune has unfolded in front of the audience.

The Eurydice, the Fremen, the Harkonnen, the royal family of Corrino and its Sardaukar Legion are the four main forces in the story of Dune.

There are marriages, interconnected bloodlines, and cooperation among them, but more than that, there is a power struggle.

In the plot of the movie did not have time to say, the current “emperor” Padisha ambition is strong, killed his father to the throne, but jealousy, killed the hero’s father, Duke Leito, and even on his family to exterminate.

The emperor’s backbone comes from the most powerful human military force in the story, the Sadoka Legion, which is currently loyal to him.

Using a borrowed knife is a weapon that the Emperor has managed to use. He intentionally gave Erakos, the spice-producing region that the Harkonnen family had been occupying, to the Etrudy family, stirring up strife between the two families and taking the opportunity to eliminate the Etrudy, who had the strength and popularity to do so.

Each family also has its own very distinct culture and philosophy of governance, like Harkonnen’s might and reverence for force and muscle, Freeman’s tribalism and wisdom, Eurydice’s democracy and affinity, and Corrino royalty’s splendor and ambition …… Together, these diverse cultures form the sparkling cultural background of Dune, and each has its own historical archetype.

Detail 8: The Kiss
Some viewers may wonder why Baron Harkonnen is not accompanied by a son, only a nephew.

The movie, on the other hand, uses kisses to implicitly express the original setting that Baron Harkonnen prefers the male style and is not interested in women.

The Harkonnen family’s cultural background is very close to the ancient Greek “love of the wise”. They love beautiful men with a brooding temperament, strong muscles, and admire strength and ideas.

That’s why their feelings of power, respect and positivity are expressed in kisses between people of the same sex. Apologies for strong men are made by kissing boots, and the worship and remembrance of a family is made by kissing the family crest.

Detail 9: Females
Female characters and matriarchal forces have always been an important part of the Dune narrative. From the main female character, Cheeni, to her mother, Jessica, the movie features a number of female characters who dare to love and hate, have strong personalities, and are courageous and resourceful.

Among them, the “Sisterhood” of Beni Jesseret, a force independent of the four families, has always been impressive. These women, who look like witches and are maintained by the secretions of sandworms every day, do not have strong muscles, but they can control people’s hearts with just a few words. They are the real hidden heroes of the story.

Beni Jesserit is Latin for “well mannered, well behaved,” and the Sisterhood is, in fact, an organization of women operatives with a religious bent. They perform the painful experiments of Dune 1’s Highlight, they control minds with their voices, they can shift consciousness and even disease, and they can control the birth of boys and girls.

And for thousands of years, their greatest scheme has been to create Quisaz Hadrach, the son of the universe with the most powerful abilities, through the intertwining of their bloodlines. Therefore, the members of the Sisterhood attach great importance to the “borrowed seed”.

According to the plan, the mother of the hero, is the product of the Sisterhood and Baron Harkonnen after the mating, but also because of this plan, resulting in the good male style of the Baron thought it was a great shame, offended the members of the Sisterhood, and by the Sisterhood transferred the toxin, from the muscles of the beautiful man into a bloated monster.

More according to the plan, the hero, should be a girl, and this girl and the Harkonnen family will give birth to the “son of the universe”, but all the variables stem from the hero’s mother moved to the heart of the mortal, want to protect the Eurydice family lineage, so many years of planning failed, the Sisters also appeared in the factional strife, the hero’s mother, Jessica, began to concoct a point of view! that would put her own son on the throne.

The other members of the sisterhood will not be idle, Léa Seydoux plays the not so trusting of the hero’s ability of Mrs. Margot, borrowed the baron-to-be bald handsome seed, attempting to give birth to their own real “son of the universe” to ensure that the plan goes smoothly.

This very matriarchal idea and ritual subtly challenges fatalism, while at the same time adding more ethical drama to the hero’s story and challenging patriarchal authority. Star Wars stories never go out of style, and human patricide will always be accompanied by a gene for rebellion, perhaps towards the middle path, or perhaps leading to the end of all things.

Detail 10: Zen
What many viewers are unaware of is that Dune’s author, Hurlburt, is well-versed in the Chinese idea of Zen.

Enlightenment is the raison d’etre of Zen. Epiphany is also human nature. The epiphany in Dune can be divided into three stages. The first stage, seeing the difference, is seeing the mountain as a mountain and the water as water. For example, the Sisterhood’s training would include Zen awareness, but the essence is to utilize Zen ideas to perpetuate the opposition between the self and the outside world.

The second stage is “no-self”, seeing the mountain as not a mountain and the water as not water. When the hero succeeds in seeing the future, he feels trepidation, and he fights hard against tragedy and degradation, but because of politics he sacrifices his love, becomes a man who protects the sacred by any means necessary, and becomes his own antagonist, wandering around in uncertainty, and thus perishing.

In the third stage, there is the unity of things, where mountains are just mountains and water is just water. In this stage, the distinction between no-self and self will be broken down. In the original, Paul’s descendants will not be obsessed with “emptiness,” but rather believe that it is this uncertainty that can facilitate development. Therefore, in the ending of the original story, the dichotomy is broken, and with the liberating consciousness of human nature and the spirit of universal love, they are free to travel in different conditions of space and time, so that they can reach the realm of harmony and interplay, and realize the true freedom.

Therefore, under the shell of Prince’s Revenge, Dune wants to show not only an ordinary story, but also all kinds of thoughts about technology, future and thoughts, which is highly exploratory and universal value. Looking forward to “Dune 3” with magnificent strokes, let this epic-like soft science fiction story, jump out of the shell of space opera, truly become synonymous with imagination and thinking.