Three Thousand Years of Longing

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 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.

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.

It's pretty slow paced and isn't action packed at all which was what I expected heading in. I was excited to see it but it didn't seem to be as good from the people who watched it early which lowered my expectations.

The movie's all about story telling of a djinn's former lifetimes. It's definitely one of the more unique films released this year, it's filled with grand and vibrant visuals, it shows you his memories as they're narrated and the whole movie ekes magic because if it. As far as djinn stories go it's not as original but the way it's told makes it feel like something new, sets it apart from Disney's Aladdin.

In the second half of the movie it moves away from the magical ambience and becomes a romance between the two protagonists that have only loneliness in common. Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton gave great performances; however as the whole premise of the movie is storytelling, it does lack depth and emotional pull which could've elevated it from just a good movie to a great one. Because for something that only wants to tell stories, it's a little disappointing that the visuals were the most captivating thing about it. It also feels much longer than it is, I don't think it should have been paced quicker but they should have just given the audience some more depth or thrill.

It's a very zen movie, it doesn't flactuate, no highs and lows which makes it quite anticlimactic and movies like that are rarely memorable. It tells stories that happened over 3000 years, that's a lot to unpack in such a short time so it makes sense they couldn't unravel it all, but that unfortunately left me with the feeling it had so much more to offer. Little sparks of something special that never came to be.

I think its awesome how the ratings jumped up from a 5.9 to a 6.9 that's wonderful! Mainly about Tilda Swinton's character buying an antique to find out a Djinn is part of it, has wishes and numerous stories to tell that are fascinating, beautiful, bizarre, and intriguing. Idris Elba is brilliant in anything especially in The Wire that's irrelevant but easily his best role. I barely knew anything of this movie before seeing except that I love George Miller films he has made a lot of masterpieces 3000 thousand years of longing is defiantly excellent for it's uniqueness; I wouldn't say masterful but damn good and would highly recommend!