Three Thousand Years of Longing (2022)

Three Thousand Years of Longing is both epic in scope and deeply personal. It is a story of centuries but also of a moment in time. It is about how we tell stories, how stories tell truth, and how truth is how we experience it. It is incredibly fantastic while also remaining deeply honest. It starts with words that tell us it is the truth told in a fairy tale. For me Longing was a lovely tale, brought to glorious life on a big screen, and touchingly beautiful in both its execution and in its narrative.

This is the story of a woman and the djinn she finds, how they transform each other. We are all familiar with stories of a genie granting 3 wishes and this story manages to be both that story and something which upends the story we know. Because this film is always about being two things at once, where both can be true. This is a big part of the magic of this movie. It manages to be everything we need it to be, even when that contradicts itself. 

Swinton is perfect in her role as the outsider by choice who finds connection. Swinton is both cast on and against type taking on this part. She so often perfectly embodies the other and here she is that but is also us. So as she connects with the fantasy of Elba, and what is Elba able to embody on screen if not a perfect fantasy, so do we. And he to us. The chemistry between them is remarkable and just uncomfortable enough to give it the incredible energy this story needs while being as relatable as any romance. 

But it is also about the nature of story telling itself. Humans have relied on legends and myths and parables and jokes and stories of all sorts as a way of connecting, a way of communicating, a way of being... human. Longing captures all the mystery and honesty of that in a visually stunning film which creates magic right before our eyes. 

Elba spins his 1001 Nights style stories and Miller films it all with an operatic motivation. But it remains all contained in one hotel room and it remains a story of connection between two beings. Three Thousand Years is gorgeous to watch on a big screen and this paired with the intimacy between the characters makes for a delicious mix. So much of the beauty of this story is wrapped up on those wondrous contradictions.

Three Thousand Years of Longing

Starring: Tilda Swinton, Idris Elba, Amito Lgum, Matteo Bocelli 

Director: George Miller

Writers: Augusta Gore, George Miller