Three Thousand Years of Longing
An unhurried pondering through the wit and wonder of thousands of years of human history, told through the romantic remembrances of a long-trapped Djinn.
Alithea (Tilda Swinton) is a lonely scholar. On a trip to Istanbul to present at a conference, she happens across a beautiful blue and white glass bottle. When she opens it in the comfort of her hotel room, she discovers a Djinn (Idris Elba), who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. Cautious to a fault, Alithea initially rejects the idea of making a wish, but her tune starts to change as the Djinn takes the time to explain his predicament and experience with humanity and wishing over the past three thousand years.
George Miller directs this stunningly rendered and hypnotically engaging dive into the wondrous magic of human history, and does so with aplomb. Three Thousand Years of Longing has the whimsy of a Tolkein-like fantasy, the historical intrigue of a treasure hunting film, stylistic flourishes of a Wes Andersen picture, and the romantic sensibilities of Notting Hill. It’s a heady blend of genres, choices and directions that creates a truly enjoyable, engaging film.
Idris Elba is a standout as the hulking Djinn. Flitting between bouts of explosive anger, moments of remarkable tenderness, and a deep longing for both knowledge, and his own kind, he embodies the constant tension of this character perfectly. His Djinn is neither here nor there - rather, he is both constantly drawn to humanity and endlessly fascinated by their flaws, faults, ambitions and intrigues, and also drawn back to his people and his homeland, knowing that his experiences with humans are toxic and are fundamentally bad for him.
Tilda Swinton is also incredible, as we have come to expect from her. Her role is more of a receptive one, listening as she does to the magical creatures stories, but when we are with her she is an absorbing and captivating presence.
Visually, Miller swings for the fences, with gorgeously rendered historical vision mixed with magical CGI attempting to understand the nature of these magical creatures, render the extents of the universe, and fill Sheba’s temple with wonder.
The only drawback to the piece is that it feels like it’s 6% off being a truly revelatory experience. There are little moments - Swinton’s glance up when she here’s a child being called at the end of the film, minor touches in the Queen of Sheba’s temple, and other amongst them - that speak to another level of the film that could have been revealed. Even in the dialogue, there are moments that feel on the verge of being something fresh and exciting, but just fall short into a category where they can be compared to lines we’ve heard before in other films. It is never enough to make this an unworthy experience, or to detract overly from the film, but it niggles in the back of the brain. Something in you just says “this is so close to being something truly revolutionary, but it just falls short”.
Ultimately, however, this is a really beautiful piece of cinema. Well paced, exciting, stunning and heartwarming, Three Thousand Years of Longing is a beautiful, magical world come to life.
