Three Thousand Years of Longing is a modern day take on the classic myth of what happens when you encounter a genie who grants you three wishes. Set in both Istanbul and London, this movie is an ambitious and creative take on what happens when we truly ask for what our heart desires.
★★★✰✰
In one scene during Three Thousand Years of Longing, the Djinn (Idris Elba) tells Alithea (Tilda Swinton) that she can only make wishes that reflect her true heart’s desire. One wonders if the director himself was offered the fulfilment of such a wish, as the movie is truly a labor of love. A visual and auditory delight, the movie lures you in from start to finish. It is a lovely reprieve in a world full of mass-market superhero movies, where every decision is made in consult with thirty other executives, and plot lines are hammered out years in advance. It begs the question how this movie ever got made at all.
Based on the short story, “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A.S. Byatt, the plot itself is simple. Alithea is a spinster with a penchant for the scholarly studies of narratology. During her trip to Istanbul, she comes across a glass bottle in the Grand Bazaar, cleans it with her electric toothbrush, and releases a Djinn. At first, she refuses to put forth any wishes, not wanting to fall for any trickery on the Djinn’s part. However, as she hems and haws, he tells her his history, starting from being the Queen of Sheba’s lover during the time of King Solomon, to his exploits throughout history involving Suleiman the Magnificent, Murad IV and how exactly he ended up in that bottle in the first place.
The movie isn’t flawless. Although the visuals are stunning with consistent interplays of various shades of blue, and incredibly worth seeing on a large screen in a movie theatre (how could the gold dust of a Djinn be seen in any other way?), it has its odd moments. For a movie set primarily in Istanbul, it doesn’t take full advantage of its location, which is a pity. Instead, the story relies on two characters chatting in a very nice but bland hotel room, regaling tales about themselves as the movie flashes back to various points in history. It’s a risky move, contrasting the clean slate of modern times versus the multicoloured past, because although this gives emphasis to these flashbacks, it detracts from the interactions between the two main characters in modern times.
There’s also the question of why the main character is portrayed as an over-the-top spinster-like woman who sees hallucinations long before the Djinn shows up. Everything about her screams dowdy, dull, isolated, and the greatest crime of our society, old. The question is, is this done as a simple plot line, in that incredible things happen to the most unlikely subjects, or does the entire film take place in her own head as we watch the main character fall more and more into a schizophrenic fantasy world. With the character basically inside her hotel for many of the scenes, are we just watching her slow descent into madness?
In other points however, the movie soars. The small vignettes are a feast for the eyes and ears. There are great scenes of life throughout history, where one can only imagine how vast the world must have seemed, and lives that were lead hundreds and thousands of years ago. The Djinn is portrayed impeccably onscreen, with great details going into his representation. Idris Elba is a delight throughout, able to bring to life a multifaceted character with a compelling backstory. Tilda Swinton is perhaps wasted, on the other hand. It’s a wonder what drew her to this movie, as her character seems more one-directional and flat.
Three Thousand Years of Longing is a welcome movie in these times of mass-produced McMovies. Hopefully this will allow more independent type movies to hit the big screens, giving us what viewers really wish for. That is, creatively risky films which take you away into a world you’ve only dreamt of, even if the characters are a bit lacking.
The Verdict
Although not without its foibles, Three Thousand Years of Longing is a must-see in cinemas due to it being and audio and visual delight to the senses. After watching, you may ask yourself if you watched a modern day fairytale or had a small insight into a troubled mind. In the end, we can only hope for more movies to challenge our perceptions.
Words by Jordan Cracknell
Support The Indiependent
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.