Sometimes the greatest wish is simply for a story well told

George Miller’s Three Thousand Years Of Longing is a film that dares to ask: what if our greatest adventures were those of the heart and mind? It’s a question that resonates deeply as we follow Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton), a narratologist who values reason over myth. Her life takes a mystical turn during a trip to Istanbul, where she unwittingly releases a Djinn (Idris Elba) from an antique bottle. This Djinn, eager to gain his freedom, offers her three wishes. What follows is a series of enchanting tales from his past, filled with love, loss, and a quest for freedom, as he tries to coax wishes from Alithea’s cautious heart.

Visually, the film is a sumptuous banquet. Miller’s wild imagination shines through in scene after scene, a kaleidoscopic cavalcade of the lavish and fantastical, brought to life with lush cinematography and intricately poetic production design. The Djinn may be narrating but it’s the visual storytelling that makes an impact.

But this is no prettily decorated empty vessel. Three Thousand Years Of Longing immerses itself and the audience in the thematic depths of narrative itself, exploring the timelessness of stories and the human need for connection that brought stories into being, posing intriguing questions about fate, free will, and the redemptive power of love along the way. Swinton and Elba deliver compelling performances, each bringing a unique gravitas to their respective roles. Swinton’s cerebral elegance and Elba’s melancholic grandeur anchor the film’s philosophical musings, creating a compelling, Romantic dynamic.

The chemistry between Swinton and Elba is, admittedly, unconventional and may not work for everyone but there’s heat there for those with a heart to feel it, buried away beneath the buttoned-down pragmatism of Swinton’s multilayered performance. Likewise, the allegorical, anthological structure – while an obvious homage to the influence of the legend of Scheherazade – at times threatens to overshadow the more staid central storyline with the Djinn’s tales of primal sexuality and wild hedonism but it’s in that very contrast that the film finds its romantic charge. There may also be those who bristle against some of the portrayals of ancient middle eastern life, feeling it leans into old-fashioned tropes and stereotypes while the films’ liberated embrace of a diverse panoply of body shapes and sizes could be misinterpreted as crass body shaming but the point, if there is one at all, seems very firmly to be that beauty and desire are in the eye of the beholder.

There’s a deliberately languid pace to proceedings, all the better to allow the philosophical musings to marinate and it may come as something of a surprise to those expecting the kinetic energy of Miller’s previous works. Then again, if this film’s more contemplative approach comes as much of a surprise it suggests a lack of familiarity with the work of one of the most versatile and eclectic filmmakers of the modern era.

Looking at Miller’s diverse back catalogue, Three Thousand Years Of Longing sits comfortably within his vibrant and varied oeuvre. From the dystopian rush of the Mad Max series to the whimsical charm of Babe and the toe-tapping joy of Happy Feet, Miller has demonstrated a remarkable ability to traverse genres and tones with a practiced ease. Like much of his work, this film embraces a fantastical sense of heightened reality but takes a far more introspective stance, focusing on the power of storytelling and the complexities of inner human experience. It may lack the universal appeal of Happy Feet or the visceral survivalist polemic of the Mad Max series but it underscores Miller’s commitment to pushing creative boundaries and exploring diverse cinematic landscapes even at this late stage of his career.

Three Thousand Years Of Longing is a bold and imaginative film that invites viewers to ponder the way stories that shape our lives. It’s a love letter to the art of storytelling, entrapped in a container that’s as flawed as it is beautiful, just like a Djinn in a bottle. For those willing to embrace its idiosyncrasies, it offers a thought-provoking journey into the heart of human desire and the magic of stories. However, for others, it may be a meandering tale that, lacking focus, fails to deliver a satisfying conclusion.