 |
Poster Description: It looks like a ceiling mural from Michelangelo
with layers of sky, fluffy clouds, and beautifully dressed characters from the
film all around the edge of the frame. Alithea and Djinn are covered by a
thick, red cape, and their fingers are linked in a sweetly defiant pose.
Three Thousand Years of Longing is written in white capital letters
above them. |
Since Mad Max Fury Road, George Miller’s directing style has intrigued me. The sandstorm sequence left me feeling like an excited child again, marvelling at the colour contrasts, light, and practical effects. I’d almost forgotten action didn’t have to be moody or monochrome to make an impression.
Fast-forward to 2022, and by
pure chance, I caught a trailer for Miller’s next project, Three Thousand Years of Longing. It was a fever dream. More bizarrely, it coincided with
a new phase I was experiencing around the stories of Arabian Nights. It
touched on the occasionally provocative relationship between men and
women and djinn being commonplace. I’d tried to conquer A Thousand and One Nights by
Sir Richard Francis Burton (yes, a different Sir Richard Burton). I found
myself eager to find a more modern interpretation of Scheherazde’s tales
without some 19th-century white man chortling in the footnotes about Eastern
culture being savage and backwards (I am paraphrasing, but that was the gist).
Was it possible Three Thousand Years of
Longing could scratch that itch? Sadly,
due to that daunting time of almost-post-pandemic, it would be another year
before I finally caught a glimpse of the film…in the last few minutes of a
flight. I was tickled to find Three
Thousand Years of Longing begins on a
plane – and genuinely skewered by the evocative lines, “My name is Alithea. My
story is true.”
Call it pretentious; I was still
hooked.
Alithea (Tilda Swinton, Snowpiercer) is a lonely
scholar on a trip to Istanbul. She buys an unusual bottle as a souvenir, only
to discover – surprise! – it’s a vessel for a djinn (Idris Elba, Beast), desperate to
grant her three wishes. If I had a pound for every time I’d seen Tilda Swinton
play a redhead with a strong Northern accent, I’d have two pounds; it’s not a
lot, but weirdly, it’s happened twice (see also Snowpiercer). She is in
top form here, portraying a proudly introverted woman with a wry outlook. As a
scholar of stories, Alithea is a shrewd woman when it comes to making wishes,
and here lies the heart of the film’s first act. Elba’s djinn is world-weary,
and politely bewildered by Alithea’s methodical processing of the situation. If
their heartfelt exchanges in hotel bathrobes isn’t your idea of a fun time, its
juxtaposed with the djinn’s multiple imprisonments that will be sure to steal
your breath. Also, a shout-out to the name of the hotel Scheherazade. It’s a
more subtle reference to Arabian Nights, but damn it, I appreciated it!
To capture Djinn’s
otherworldly nature, we have some efficiently basic practical effects. Elba
wears prosthetic ears, and his palms are painted dark pink. At the same time,
there is incredible CGI to depict subtle fire, and it is gorgeous, particularly
as we see it through the magnified lenses of Alithea’s glasses first.
With each chapter heralded
like the dialogue of a silent film, there is so much vibrant energy and colour
to these flashbacks that you find a new detail with each viewing. Also,
remember when I mentioned the thought-provoking relationship between men and
women? It’s deeply explored in every aspect here. Most significantly, the Queen
of Sheba and King Solomon attempting to seduce her. The scene of him playing a
song on a peculiar musical instrument that gets progressively more beautiful
and bizarre with each shot made me laugh aloud as it’s so deadpan. The
punchline is Sheba gulping because that melody is sensual as hell.
 |
Image Description: We seem to have a bird’s eye view of a lavish party.
There are Persian rugs covering the hexagonal tiles, and women chat together at
tables and around the room in bright, beautiful costumes, surrounded by
servants with trays and guards. The light is warm and cosy. |
The second act focuses more
on Alithea’s life and the consequences of her decision to make her wish. I
would have found it more intriguing if she hadn’t done this, but it is one of
the significant clauses of a djinn’s imprisonment. Swinton and Elba have
amusing platonic chemistry; admittedly, there’s not a lot of overt, romantic
tension there, but it is refreshing to see a middle-aged woman finding love for
the sake of companionship on film. Especially when the companion looks at her like this.
 |
Image Description: Djinn (Idris Elba) squints and smiles beneath a
cloudy sky. He wears dark colours, including a black hood that covers his head
and a tan jacket. His beard is short, with a bright auburn patch in the centre
of his chin. Alithea has her back to the camera, so all we can see is the frame
of her glasses, red collar and arm of her coat as she raises a hand to cup
Djinn’s cheek. Her hair is an auburn bob. |
Like Alithea, Djinn is
ever-curious and seeks to understand his new human world. The final act carries
such warmth between the pair, and I was struck by how emotional it made me.
Herein
is my frustration with this review. Words simply do not do Three Thousand Years of Longing justice. Even if the story doesn’t grab you by the
sentimental heartstrings the way it did with this humbled reviewer, it is a
visual feast which demands to be experienced first-hand. It might not
have the usual trappings of a love story or the adventure of the more
well-known tales from Arabian Nights, but it captures what makes life beautiful and all
the imaginings in between. Superb.
My Rating: 5 STARS OUT OF 5
My Sources:
Three Thousand Years of
Longing poster - https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/8q6BrcwGEBGbtwtbCUVKEt2lmEy.jpg
Three Thousand Years of
Longing trailer - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWGvntl9itE
Wait…which Sir Richard Burton
wrote Arabian Nights? - https://burtoniana.org/books/1885-Arabian
Nights/
Scheherazade & Arabian
Nights – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheherazade
Tilda Swinton’s filmography -
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0842770/?ref_=tt_ov_st
Idris Elba’s filmography - https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0252961/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_1_nm_7_q_idris
There’s a Phineas and Ferb
meme here somewhere… - https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/dr-doofenshmirtz-if-i-had-a-nickel
Image: A colourful party - https://cdni.fancaps.net/file/fancaps-movieimages/8871326.jpg
Image: Alithea and Djinn - https://abcentertainment.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Three-Thousand-Years-of-Longing-768x432.jpg
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