1 March 2024.
By Neptune
Two completely different releases this week – one a thrilling blockbuster, the other a wry, delicate tale of loneliness and trying to fit in. Pick your genre, or try both, as they are each excellent, making for double satisfaction.
DUNE: PART TWO ****
Once again, and rare for a sequel, this film by Canadian director Denis Villeneuve is incredibly grandiose. This mixture of an overpowering futuristic blockbuster, a solemn Shakespearean drama and a love story overshadowed by spiritual and familial dilemmas is brilliantly moulded by Villeneuve with just the right balance between the intimate moments and the rousing battle scenes that literally makes your seat vibrate under you.
The whole landscape and mood of the planet Arrakis with its spice that the various factions covet (surely an allegory for oil) is visually and emotionally staggering. The soundtrack also gets under one’s skin, but then it’s once again done by that master, Hans Zimmer. This is not a mere sci-fi flick but rather feels like a thoughtful analysis of all the power struggles that are ruling our own planet today – the brutal war machines of the invaders and the indigenous people fighting for their home and survival. It could be Ukraine, it could be Gaza, it could be Myanmar.
If you’re new to this monumental tale of warring families and planets, it’s based on Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel of the same name. It was originally done, quite badly, back in 1984 by David Lynch.
Beyond Villeneuve’s vision and mastery, what also makes this extravaganza exceptional are the actors – Timothée Chalamet as the young, reluctant ‘saviour’, plays both vulnerable and heroic; Zendaya is his equal as an indigenous Fremen warrior; Javier Bardem is a charismatic leader of the Fremens; Rebecca Ferguson radiates as a mother and a priestess; and Austin Butler (last of “Elvis”) is a fierce evil addition, almost unrecognisable in pale makeup. There are more – Christopher Walken, Josh Brolin, Lea Seydoux, Florence Pugh and so forth…all distinct characters. All quite unforgettable.
All this and more in almost 3 hours, which I personally did not feel go by.
FREMONT ***
Now this movie is the exact opposite – a small, ninety-minute independent film about an Afghani immigrant trying to fit into her new life in the San Francisco area. It is slow, quiet and with its wry humour manages to convey both the feeling of alienation and the gentle discovery of her current surroundings.
By the European-based, Iranian director Babak Jalali, this intriguing black-and-white film that made waves at the Sundance film festival has touches of Jim Jarmusch’s deadpan humour. Played by a real-life Afghani refugee, Anaita WaliZada, our protagonist Donya, who used to work as an interpreter for the U.S. military in Afghanistan, is now working at a Chinese fortune cookie factory in Fremont. Jalali surrounds her with eccentric, offbeat characters – from her kindly boss, an older girl friend, a quirky government analyst, to a possible new beau. And somehow she seems the strongest of them all.
It has picked up prizes from many film festivals including Deauville, Karlovy Vary, Boston and from the Independent Spirit Awards. It’s a delicate work that lingers in the memory.
(Showing at the Grütli Cinemas)
Superb **** Very Good *** Good ** Mediocre * Miserable – no stars
By Neptune
Neptune Ravar Ingwersen reviews film extensively for publications in Switzerland. She views 4 to 8 films a week and her aim is to sort the wheat from the chaff for readers.
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