The movie, Dune (or Dune: Part One), is based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 epic science fiction novel by the same name. The film has been directed by Denis Villeneuve for Warner Bros.
Dune has opened in several international markets, including the Venice International Film Festival on September 3, 2021.
The movie has been scheduled to be released in the United States of America on October 22, 2021, in the United Kingdom on October 21, 2021, and in Australia on December 2, 2021.
It is also going to be released on HBO Max on October 22, 2021.
The Plot of Dune Part 1: what is it about?
Dune is set in the year 10,191 and begins in the desert planet, Arrakis. For the past several decades, Arrakis has been ruled by the Harkonnen’s.
The evil Vladimir Harkonnen, played by Stellan Skarsgard, and his nephew Rabban, played by Dave Bautista, operate the citizen of Arrakis, who are also called Fremen.
They carry out the lucrative spice mining operation in Arrakis. The spice melange, a hallucinogen known to prolong life, is available on this planet.
Scene from Dune (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)The Emperor of Arrakis decides to relegate the control of the planet to Duke Leto, played by Oscar Isaac, from the planet Caladan.
Duke Leto has a young son, Paul, played by Timothée Chalamet. As an heir to the House of Atreides, Paul is being trained in warfare by the Duke’s military advisors, Duncan Idaho (played by Jason Momoa) and Gurney Halleck (played by Josh Brolin).
Paul’s mother, Lady Jessica, played by Rebecca Ferguson, teaches mind-controlling techniques.
Paul is constantly disturbed with visions of the future, where he sees himself being involved with a Fremen girl and also being the leader of the Fremen in their war against their oppressors.
The Harkonnens’ do not take this exchange of power lying down and attack the House Atreides, in which Paul and his mother are presumed dead.
However, they manage to escape and meet the Fremen leader, Stilgar (played Javier Bardem), and his warriors. The meeting does not go well because the Fremen does not trust these outsiders.
Stilgar’s warrior, Jamis, asks him to eliminate the Atreides. Paul overpowers Jamis, while Lady Jessica manages to inundate Stilgar.
Timothée Chalamet in Dune (Image Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures)Jamis challenges Stiglar’s leadership as Jessica has managed to get the better of him. Jamis claims that Paul overpowered him only because of Jessica’s witchcraft and then challenged Paul to a mortal combat, Tahaddi Challenge.
In this combat, Jessica is forbidden from using her mind-controlling powers, and the winner would become the new leader of the Sietch Tabr community, while the loser would have to die
. Paul’s disturbing visions become even more expansive after being exposed to the hallucinogen spice of the planet. In his vision, he sees himself in a duel with Jamis and his own death at the end of the duel.
He also has visions of leading the Fremen, even attacking his former home planet, Caladen.
Dune Ending Explained
Just before the duel between Paul and Jamis, Paul gets to meet the girl he always dreamt about.
She is Chani, played by Zendaya, who does not believe him to be their messianic leader, and is sure of Paul’s death in the duel.
She offers him her great aunt’s crysknife so that he could, at least, die honorably. Paul had seen this crisknife also in his vision.
Scene from Dune (Image Credits: Warner Bros. Pictures)In the duel, though Jamis, being an expert fighter, Paul manages to defeat him. He wishes to spare Jamis’ life. However, this not being an option in the Tahaddi combat, Paul has to kill Jamis.
Winning this combat makes him an acceptable figure amongst the Fremen. He is given the name Paul Maud’Dib, while his mother is given the name, Sayyadina.
Could Paul winning the combat mean that his vision was not true? This could mean that Paul Atreides had to die so that he could be reborn as Paul Maud’Dib.
A sequel of the movie, Dune, is likely to be in the offing, where we might see Paul’s vision of being the messianic leader of Fremen becoming true.
Dune Review: Why should we watch Dune Part 1?
The plot of Dune is quite complex. It ends on a cliffhanger, and the movie builds up the stage for Dune: Part Two. So, the story might feel incomplete.
However, Dune has a great cast, who have played their characters in the best ways possible.
Every actor, including the supporting cast, in the movie, has done a great job.
The director, Denis Villeneuve, has also proved his merit once again and has done a great job.
The film is also very visually appealing, with great production design and cinematography. The music is also a big part of the movie and is very good and significant in a lot of the scenes.
Overall, it is a good movie for viewers who are interested in films of this genre, while others may not like it that much.
