Stunning Visuals Make ‘Three Thousand Years of Longing’ a Fresh Take on a Familiar Tale
Three Thousand Years of Longing, from director George Miller, is a visually stunning tale that celebrates storytelling and takes its time building its own narrative.
The film, based on a short story by A. S. Byatt, stars Tilda Swinton as Alithea, a narratologist who studies storytelling throughout history. She’s alone and perfectly content to stay that way, preferring to indulge in scholarly pursuits instead of romantic relationships.
On a business trip to Istanbul for a conference, she happens across a small glass bottle in a shop and takes it back to the hotel to clean it up, only to discover that there’s a Djinn (Idris Elba) trapped inside. He offers her three wishes, whatever her heart most desires, but she’s read too many stories about wishes and isn’t ready to make any decisions just yet.
Since the djinn can’t be free until he’s granted three wishes, he attempts to convince her by telling her stories from his own long life including his ill-fated loves for the Queen of Sheba, a slave girl who only wanted a prince, and a genius who craved knowledge.
Alithea is left wondering what her heart truly desires and whether or not all her previous knowledge about these types of stories should warn her away from the potential opportunity to get what she’s always wanted.
The visuals are by far the strongest element with beautiful, creative sets, costumes, fantasy locations, and magic. Each of the djinn’s stories takes us to a new place and introduces us to eccentric new characters that would feel at home in a fairy tale—but not the Disney version of the fairy tales we’ve all heard. This is much more in line with the darker, weirder source tales that get watered-down for family fare in those stories. And it’s the colorful details, characters, and emotions of these fantastical tales that appeal so much to Alithea.
Elba and Swinton are both so charming and have such chemistry that their every interaction is a joy to watch. Our djinn’s magical persuasion seems to be no match for her no-nonsense logical approach at first, and it makes the process of convincing her to wish an interesting and fun journey.
The film meanders a bit with its narrative and can sometimes stray a little too far from the plot, but the overall journey feels refreshing and visually spectacular enough to make it a very enjoyable watch.
