Dune: Part Two

Annotation for KRRR! 2025 by Anna Dostálová

At the end of the first Dune (2021), the house of the powerful Atreides family was destroyed in an ambush on the sandy planet Arrakis, during which the young Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) fled to the desert with his mother (Rebecca Ferguson) after the murder of his father, where he met the local Fremen, who provided him with support after a victorious duel with one of their warriors... And at this point, the second part picks up, where Paul is introduced to the Fremen as a prophet and liberator, whose arrival has been long awaited here. Against the background of the story of the fight to protect the planet's local resources and wage a "holy war", we follow the development of Paul's relationship with Chani (Zendaya), and Paul must think about the future he knows when making his decisions – and the responsibility that this entails.

The second part of the film adaptation of Frank Herbert's 1965 novel of the same name takes us back to the distant future universe, where we follow the complex struggle for the natural wealth of a desert planet in the form of so­‑called spices, interplanetary domination and power. Although the book model bears typical sci­‑fi features such as being set in the distant future of humanity, I would describe it more as space fantasy. The plot does not emphasize the future with regard to scientific knowledge, but rather against the background of a fictional story and, with the help of supernatural forces, discusses themes and motifs characteristic of the author's and our present, such as ecological emphasis, resource extraction, the desire for domination, the struggle for power and religious fanaticism. Dune, in the openly original interpretation of the prominent contemporary Hollywood director Denis Villeneuve, who also participated in the script, is the third audiovisual adaptation of the complex novel. The first Dune film was released in 1984, directed by David Lynch, and the second was a television series at the turn of the millennium. Villeneuve's take on the film was nevertheless received relatively warmly by audiences and critics – and Dune also received awards at the Oscars, where the first part in 2022 turned in six out of nine nominations and the second part recently won two Oscars. It is praised in particular for its visual appeal, including special effects.

In the second part in particular, we can enjoy the space war with all its impact, whether it is the large crowd scenes such as the final clash of armies, Paul's more intimate journeys through the desert or the narratively key ride on the sandworm. All of this, along with the music of Hans Zimmer, will certainly be helped by the Krnov screening in the royal 70mm format.