Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

[Alex...]

Title: Three Thousand Years of Longing (George Miller)

Genre: Fantasy, Drama, Romance

Director: George Miller

Cast: Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Kaan Guldur, Ece Yüksel, Zerrin Tekindor, Erdil Yaşaroğlu, David Collins, Alyla Browne, Nicola Mouawad, Angie Tricker, Hayley Gia Hughes, Jason Jago, Seyithan Özdemir, Burcu Gölgedar, Berk Ozturk, Ogulcan Arman Uslu, Pia Thunderbolt, Matteo Bocelli, Lachy Hulme, Megan Gale, Jack Braddy, Aamito Lagum, Aiden Mckenzie, Aska Karem, Shakriya Tarinyawat, Hugo Vella, John Puckeridge-Webb, Anna Adams, James Dobbins Jones, Tendai Dzwairo, Randolph Fields, Amelia Patomaki, Sarah Houbolt, Callum Moran, Shane Miller, David Paulsen, Tahlia Crinis

Release: 2022-08-31

Runtime: 108

Plot: A lonely and bitter British woman discovers an ancient bottle while on a trip to Istanbul and unleashes a djinn who offers her three wishes. Filled with apathy, she is unable to come up with one until his stories spark in her a desire to be loved.

 

[Alex...]

 

[Alex...]

 

[Chuck Mayer]

So this is a very unexpected treat. I didn't know Miller was working on anything lately, and now he's got a new movie in a few months. Very intriguing trailer and premise. Could be a mess, could be absolutely amazing.

 

[Josh Dial]

I watched this tonight in one of the smaller Atmos theatres here in town.

I thought the first hour and a bit was exceptional. Enthralling story/stories and really great performances from Swinton and and Elba. However, it seems like there was about twenty minutes cut toward the end, so the final two sequences sort of come out of nowhere. I think somewhere there is an extended cut that would be truly magical. As it stands, the theatrical release is good, but the last twenty minutes keep it from being great.

It's a pity, because the first hour is so good.

7/10 for me (10/10 for the first hour).

 

[JoeStemme]

Just got back from it. I liked it quite a bit. More later, but, go see it now, because it won't last in theaters for long. And, hey, Saturday it will only cost you three bucks!

 

[JoeStemme]

George Miller's adaptation (with his daughter Augusta Gore) of A.S. Byatt's novella “Djinn in a Nightingale's Eye” takes a different approach to the legend of a Genie in a Bottle. As in the book, LONGING concerns a scholar, Alithea (Tilda Swinton), who accidently releases a Djinn (Idris Elba) from an antique bottle during a visit to Turkey to attend a conference.

Alithea is a narratologist - a person who studies storytelling. Her knowledge comes in handy when confronted by the Djinn to come up with three wishes so that he may be free to continue his eternal journeys. The rules and traps of the granting of said wishes are bantered about by the couple, and helps guide the viewer to understand the consquences to follow.

Another interesting part of the screenplay's construction is that, as opposed to most genie tales, it is the Djinn who is the focus - and not the wishmaker. The Djinn's three tales involve flights of fancy, including the Queen Of Sheba, that clearly are up Miller's alley. While the Mad Max quadrilogy are, by far, Miller's signature films, he is also the man responsible for the touching LORENZO'S OIL, the BABE and HAPPY FEET films and another magical fantasy, WITCHES OF EASTWICK. Miller and his production team fill the screen with intricately detailed sets and visions. Roger Ford's art direction and Kym Barrett's costumes are lovingly captured by cinematographer John Seale. Tom Holkenberg/Junkie XL's score is suitably evocative.

Elba is effective as the Djinn even if there is too much narration and not enough actual storytelling going on in his flashback tales. The script departs from the source material in some key ways (particularly with regards to Alithea), as evidenced here by an uncertain final act which bobs and weaves about until finding a simple, if cinematically satisfying enough ending.

Swinton has been likened to an “immortal” for some time, and conveys the mysteries of her character well. As the Djinn frames it, his mythical creature is fire to human beings' dust. Those ethereal concepts are hard to capture and make solid and real on film. Miller and Gore struggle with those celestial themes, but the acting wins one over, as does the filmmakers' bravura cinematic vision.

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

So, this is really probably one of the best pictures of 2022 and at the moment likely one of the most overlooked. Not sure how long this stayed in cinemas or even what cinemas it played or if it got any promotion at all. It did seem to sort of arrive, like a Djinn, suddenly out of nowhere.

This is a picture about stories that features two wonderful actors giving outstanding performances. A holiday treat for the month of December if you want to partake. My wife loved it as well. Miller did a great job with this, a joy for the eyes and a story to hold you spellbound.

 

[JoeStemme]

It did play. I reviewed it while it was in theaters. But, it bombed. I thought it worked on some levels

 

[Winston T. Boogie]

It did play. I reviewed it while it was in theaters. But, it bombed. I thought it worked on some levels

It does seem pictures like this, that are not big franchise stuff, just do not attract an audience. I did not read the novel, so can't compare it to that, but as a film I really enjoyed it. It is basically an adult fairy tale and I thought it totally worked in that regard. I thought Elba and Swinton had fantastic chemistry and Miller guided us through the tale beautifully. Maybe I am grading higher because we just don't see many pictures like this now. I do think, as you mentioned, this makes a nice double bill with Witches of Eastwick. Miller seems to have a good feel for this kind of thing.