It’s true that the summer blockbuster season is winding down, but August has proven to be a fantastic month for more modest movies. Three Thousand Years of Longing, starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, is a new fantasy drama film directed by George Miller and based on the A.S. Byatt short tale The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye. Only a few weeks remain until its theatrical premiere, and MGM has recently unveiled a new trailer showcasing the headbutting chemistry between Elba and Swinton. Elba’s Djinn and Swinton’s Dr. Alithea Binnie argue in the clip “Wish We Never Met” about Dr. Binnie’s capacity to come up with three wishes. In order to be freed, the Djinn requires Alithea to make the three wishes, but she is happy with her current situation and refuses to do so.
After several more heated exchanges, Alithea finds herself secretly wishing she and her newfound friend had never met. Sadly, the tape finishes with the Djinn’s container being shattered, so it seems to have been a bad idea. The benefits of reading Three Thousand Years of Longing are numerous. The film seems to combine the traditional setup of seeing what someone would do if given the power of “three wishes” with an emotionally significant narrative about learning what we truly want and how valuable we are to ourselves.
The narrative of a Djinn who gets stranded with a professor at a professional conference is guaranteed to add a great deal of comedic value to the fantasy adventure. Furthermore, Miller directed and co-wrote this flick. This great director has been working in the industry for four decades, and he has perfected the art of combining wildly divergent tones and ideas. Miller knows what’s required for a narrative or character to resonate conceptually since he’s worked on a broad variety of films, from the Mad Max trilogy to the modern cartoon hit Happy Feet.
It will be interesting to see what Miller, Elba, and Swinton all bring to the table in this picture. If the trailer that has been published thus far is any indication, this will be an impressive vacation. This year’s Cannes Film Festival saw the world premiere of Three Thousand Years of Longing. On August 26, the enchanting stage production of Three Thousand Years of Longing will open to the public.