Three Thousand Years of Longing

"Three Thousand Years of Longing" is a culmination of stories leading up to the encounter between Idris Elba's "Djinn" and Tilda Swinton's "Alithea" that will enchant and enthrall those that wish to be enchanted and enthralled. It is certainly not a movie that I would just recommend to anyone. Rather, this film is one for an audience looking to pick out patterns and motifs that make up a three-thousand-year long story.

These musical motifs, visual patterns, color schemes, and recurring events are placed all throughout the film. Many are easy to pick out, many less so. In essence, this film is not unlike Wes Andersen's "The French Dispatch", in which many smaller stories constitute a whole. While there is certainly room to expand, this is an intriguingly crafted film (with an even more intriguing sound mix), that stayed with me long after I left the theater. If you wish to enter a world where history and legend collide, I would highly recommend this film.

This truly is one of the best films I've ever seen! I went into the cinema thinking, based on the trailers, that it would be more like a comedy, ridiculous, farcical and just not a very good film, but it truly is one of the best films I've ever seen. The visual effects are great and bring an interesting change of pace to the film, but the performances by Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton are incredible, and the film is like a fairytale; it takes you on an amazing journey through time and history and characters but at the root of it is love, a true love story! I left the cinema feeling motivated, encouraged and feeling optimism again about modern cinema and the ability to tell interesting stories that really engage.

What would you do, if a Djinn appeared to you, gave three wishes at your leisure, would you use them for your pleasure, a lad in veritable full throttle, a genie conjured from a bottle, just be clear what you require, to satisfy, your heart's desires (and quench any sweltering fires that may also need dousing).

A tale of loneliness and solitude, of growing old and achievements, of what could have been and what might yet be, told through the furtive imagination of Alithea, with help from a mysterious spirit who she frees from a bottle during a stay in Istanbul.

Imagination doesn't disappear with age, and while this is not the greatest or the deepest film you'll see this year, it may still leave you juggling what three wishes you might make, and especially how to phrase them so they don't backfire.

If you, like I was, are expecting a fast-paced, light-spirited, fun romp of visual extravaganza and witty dialogue along the journey that is Three Thousand Years of Longing ... you WILL be disappointed. Now, that is not meant to dissuade you from watching or enjoying it. On the contrary. It is simply meant to temper your expectations.

There is certainly much beauty in many of this film's scenes; from curious beauty in the mundane, to fabulous beauty in the fantastical. (There is also a musical scene that will spirit you away to decadent places). Sadly however, for some unknown reason, this film chooses to stay more in the realm of the mundane than the wondrous. The wasted shame in this is almost palpable.

The film also feels somewhat choppy or disconnected at times. This is especially true quite early, when it begins to touch upon and wander into the mythical almost immediately, but with no real explanation as to why or how those particular scenes tie in with the rest of the film.

Lastly, and most grievously, while all the right words existed for this story to be told ... it seemed to lack a bit of passion or fervor from the storytellers.

All this is NOT to imply that Three Thousand Years of Longing is without its merits.

For one, Swinton and Elba together (although IMO neither delivering their best performances), is still a treat. They are beautiful separately, and together, they are art. Neither however, could elevate the tone of the film because, intentionally or not, the MAIN TONE of several parts of the film, is more cacophony than cadence. It is my friends, also, far darker and sadder in parts, than what may be expected.

Think of it as a bedtime story for adults where the story is entertaining enough, and the pictures are beautiful, but the Happily Ever After may be a tad bland, bittersweet and hard to swallow.

What a grandeur ensemble between Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton.

A cautionary tale about human desire and what it means to love. The pacing was completely on point; I was engrossed right from the first few moments. The cinematography is beautiful. Miller who shows his versatility in a break from his typical movies. That being said it is noticeably a George Miller movie in style. Recommend this one very much, it does not feel too artsy but at the same time is not your "typical" fantasy movie. This movie is a marvelous artistic depiction of fundamental spiritual concepts that will leave some cold and indifferent while enchanting the initiated in the spiritual paths of the primordial tradition.