Children of Dune (2003) is a visually worthy production which struggles to connect with its audience. While pomp and ceremony may have been the fabric of the civilisation invoked by the dominion of Emperor Moadib; overall, the writing and creative story projection are hamstrung by the innate inhumanity of the storylines premise. That is, while a strong story remains undiscovered concerning the Atradies family legacy, the tale of the people involved seems entirely servile to the need to reproduce Frank Herbert's editoral vision. Consequently, the oration which is represented in the character portrayals informs figures who are emotionally remote from the audience, sterile and innately bound in the political machinations of the ethos of the empire. Much of what is reflected in this production mirrors the structure, politics and culture reflected in the machinations of the legacies of the church of Rome.
Operatively, the breadth of the storyline is so diverse, so deeply rooted in the cultural legacies of the Frank Herbert universe, the inherent psychological reticence of the characters reflects people best represented as facsimiles of Russian babushka dolls. Who each character is, in fact, as a human being, remains deeply nested in political, social and psychological intrigue and multicultural complexities likely only meaningful to an esoterically primed audience.
Consequently, the failure of this production it that the storyline assumes the audience is automatically vested in the deeply complex political and cultural intrigue evident in the imperial society of Frank Herbert's design. For me, I found this production inherently boring, sterile and characters overly disconnected with their audience. There are some exceptions, however, but, sadly, this does not carry sufficient weight to draw the story away from its inevitable downward spiral. Again, for me, character portrayals who consistently labour under the illusion of their own importance, are unfortunately, human caricatures of little more than shallow, vacuous representations of humanity - unreal and innately self-involved. I could not complete the viewing of the three-part series. I found it a trial to observe it to the halfway mark. Disappointed.
Operatively, the breadth of the storyline is so diverse, so deeply rooted in the cultural legacies of the Frank Herbert universe, the inherent psychological reticence of the characters reflects people best represented as facsimiles of Russian babushka dolls. Who each character is, in fact, as a human being, remains deeply nested in political, social and psychological intrigue and multicultural complexities likely only meaningful to an esoterically primed audience.
Consequently, the failure of this production it that the storyline assumes the audience is automatically vested in the deeply complex political and cultural intrigue evident in the imperial society of Frank Herbert's design. For me, I found this production inherently boring, sterile and characters overly disconnected with their audience. There are some exceptions, however, but, sadly, this does not carry sufficient weight to draw the story away from its inevitable downward spiral. Again, for me, character portrayals who consistently labour under the illusion of their own importance, are unfortunately, human caricatures of little more than shallow, vacuous representations of humanity - unreal and innately self-involved. I could not complete the viewing of the three-part series. I found it a trial to observe it to the halfway mark. Disappointed.