Dune's Denis Villeneuve Cleared Up Some NSFW Questions About Fremen
Sex!!! Now that I have your attention, let's talk about "Dune: Part Two" (you can read our review of the bleak blockbuster right here). You may have watched Denis Villeneuve's massive sci-fi epic and come away with a few, uh, NSFW questions about the Fremen and their ways. Luckily for you, someone went ahead and asked Villeneuve some hard-hitting (and risque!) questions, like: how does sex work on Arrakis, where seemingly every fluid is sacred and in high demand? To his credit, Villeneuve took the questions seriously and didn't shut the interview down. Instead, he seems to have genuinely put some thought into this, suggesting he really has every inch of this world mapped out in his noggin. So if you have questions about kissing and beyond in the world of "Dune," read on.
Kissing and other fluids
The questions come from the New York Times, who first asked how kissing works on the harsh desert planet, where every fluid has great significance to the Fremen, who wear special suits that are designed to recycle fluids like sweat and keep them from burning up under the hot desert sun. "As long as you don't lose your humidity, you can kiss," Denis Villeneuve said "It's an exchange of fluids — an act of love, when you think about it. Fremens love to kiss."
"Fremens love to kiss" should've been on the posters for the film if you ask me.
Anyway, now that we have kissing sorted out, what about sex? One might imagine that would require even more fluids (is this getting too gross?). Thankfully, Villeneuve has an answer for that, too. "You cannot have sex outside, for sure," he said, adding: "But they are very sexual. I suspect that all sexual intercourse happens in environments that are protected from losing moisture. When they are in their sietches [or caves] underground, those are sealed. You don't need to wear stillsuits inside them. We can deduce from that there is no problem to have sex in a sietch."
Again: I appreciate that Villeneuve actually took the time to think about this stuff rather than just say, "It's a sci-fi movie about giant worms, who cares?" He clearly knows his "Dune" lore inside and out.