Dune

❝The mystery of life isn't a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. A process that cannot be understood by stopping it. We must move with the flow of the process. We must join it. We must flow with it.❞ ❝I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little death that brings obliteration. I will face my fear and I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past... I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.❞ ⊱ ─── . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ᯽ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁. ─── ⊰ I finished reading 'Dune' this morning, so of course I had to watch Denis Villeneuve's adaptation immediately. As I have aphantasia, it's hard for me to imagine the world and characters I'm reading about, and the same thing applied to 'Dune', but when I was watching this film, I had the thought that, visually, everything was perfect. And after finishing the film, I felt that that sentiment applied to the entire thing: it's a near-perfect adaptation of the first half of the book. Of course, there are some details and scenes that are a bit different to the source material, but the film captures all the main aspects of the plot and the characters. As with most of Villeneuve's work, the cinematography was outstanding; I really liked the use of oppressive lighting to show conditions on Arrakis and reflect the treachery underfoot, and the contrast of colour palettes between the different planets. The costumes and makeup all-round were gorgeously done, and I especially loved Paul's outfits on Catalan, as well as Jessica's stunning gold dress when they arrive on Arrakis. I was also very struck by the beauty of the soundtrack; I wasn't expecting to cry so much just from hearing the music, but it was so otherworldly and atmospheric while still carrying the essence of Earth and humanity with it. The cast was excellent; I'm not the biggest fan of Timothée Chalamet, but he did a great job as Paul. I thought that Rebecca Ferguson and Oscar Isaac were brilliant as Lady Jessica and Leto respectively, and though Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa didn't have as much screen-time, they were really good as Halleck and Idaho. Javier Bardem also wasn't as present in this film, but from what I saw he was a very good Stilgar, and I'm excited to see more of him in the second film. However, Stellan Skarsgård completely stole the show for me; his cold, domineering, and very disconcerting presence as the Baron was hard to tear my eyes off of, and he truly looked the part of a formidable adversary. I thoroughly enjoyed Dune: Part One, and it's safe to say my excitement for watching the next film has peaked to never before seen highs.