Is This an Ending or Beginning?
As Chani, the girl of Paul’s dreams, says, this is only the beginning of the story. Or if you want to get technical, it’s about half of it. Author Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel Dune is a sprawling science fiction opus which spans years. And the section of the story that Villeneuve zeroed in on for adaptation makes up about 320 pages of my 560-page copy of the book.
So for those feeling as if this gargantuan film ended mid-sentence, well that’s not too far from the truth. Still, it does stop on a significant turning point in Paul’s dawning awareness about his place in the universe. Prior to the film’s conclusion, he’s been unsure of how to interpret and accept his “dreams,” or visions, of what might be. After the movie is over, there is little doubt he is on a path drenched in death, as confirmed in the vision he endures after he takes the life of Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun). In that moment, he sees a future version of himself wielding a sword caked in blood. He accepts this and still wets the sand with Jamis’ moisture, and then declares “my road leads into the desert.”
So while it’s not much of a resolution for a story in which Paul learns his father has been murdered, and sees his birthright stolen from him by the dreaded House Harkonnen, it is a serviceable moment to close the book for now. Paul and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) have survived the loss of their power and wealth, and a second film will pick up on what a life in the desert will do for mother and son—as well as a younger sibling. Do recall that Paul correctly realized his mother was pregnant.
All of which will have major implications in “Part Two,” as well as a potential third film. Indeed, while Villeneuve has confirmed he will fully adapt Herbert’s first novel in a second film, he’s already told Den of Geek he hopes to adapt Herbert’s follow-up book, Dune Messiah (1969), into a third movie, turning Paul’s journey through the sands into a full-fledged trilogy.
Is Paul Really a Messiah?
At the end of the film, a Freman leader named Stilgar (Javier Bardem) remains undecided on whether Paul is the “Lisan al-gaib,” which is the Arrakeen term for “the Voice from the Outer World.” Jamis obviously considered such notions to be folly, hence his fatal mistake of challenging Paul to a duel. Before he died, Jamis even mocked Paul as an interloper by calling him “Outworlder,” which looks a lot more ominous after he was so soundly slaughtered in the fight which followed—even as this was only Paul’s first kill. So the following question arises: Is Paul an actual messiah in Dune, a chosen one like Neo or Anakin Skywalker?
Without getting into any spoilers beyond this film, let’s just say there’s a danger to believing in such pretensions. Recall that at the beginning of the film, Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) confides in her former student, the Lady Jessica, that Arrakis has been prepared for her and Paul. The Bene Gesserit, the witchy order which both women belong to, has laid “a path” for Paul, and we now see him and his mother on it by movie’s end. What might be lost in translation to the screen is exactly how this works. Centuries before the events that occur in Dune, another member of the Bene Gesserit traveled to Arrakis and “prepared” (read: brainwashed) the local, superstitious population with prophecies and religious texts about a messiah who would be born Offworld to a
“weirding woman” (or Bene Gesserit) and lead the people of Arrakis to paradise.
Discover more from Today Headline
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.