Three Thousand Years of Longing

George Miller's latest historical fantasy Three Thousand Years of Longing is nothing short of a pleasant theatre going experience. From its visual language to its scope and narration, this movie is charming from the get go. Adapted from a collection of short stories titled "The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye", it tells the story of a narratologist scholar who accidentally frees a djinn that offers to grant three wishes of her heart's true desire. When the scholar initially refuses, being all too familiar with stories of wishes and how they all serve as none but cautionary tales, the djinn then narrates to her the story of his three thousand year long life and how his freedom now rests in the hands of this unwilling scholar.

Each story is its own vignette and each story collectively contributes to the unfolding of history on screen in grand fashion. It's truly amazing and therapeutically charming to witness these stories play out; feeling for the players, understanding their predicaments and relating to their miseries... Three Thousand Years of Longing is in every way as enchanting as the stories it tells. But it's not without its flaws, as the movie eventually plays into what I can only describe as a somewhat weak and forced final act; that to an extent undermines the ambition of its build up. And that final act does ruin what could have otherwise been a collectively satisfying experience.

Whatever flaws it may have, it's not enough to overshadow the sheer scale and ambition of this movie. It was in every way a pleasant experience and a story that is in many ways charming and wonderful.

"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.

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.

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 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.