Three Thousand Years of Longing movie review

MOVIE TITLE: Three Thousand Years of Longing

This romantic fantasy movie was released in theaters on August 31, 2022 and is now available to stream online.

RATING: R

LENGTH: 1 hour 48 minutes

MOVIE REVIEW MOM GRADE: B

IN A NUTSHELL:

A lonely scholar on a trip to Istanbul discovers a Djinn who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.

The movie was written and directed by George Miller with writing help from August Gore and A.S. Byatt. The film is based on the short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” by A.S. Byatt.

THINGS I LIKED:

First of all, the title is intriguing, don’t you think? So is the movie poster. I hadn’t watched the trailer before seeing the movie, so I had no idea what this film would be about, but I was definitely curious, especially because I love the two leading actors.
I adore Tilda Swinton. She’s such a chameleon of an actress and is perfect in this. Her character’s name, Alithea” means “truthful” in ancient Greek. She’s perfectly paired with Idris Elba. I loved both of their performances in this adult fairytale.
There is some clever humor with sharp insights that often made me laugh.
Cinematographer John Seale loved this story so much that he came out of retirement to shoot this movie. It’s simply gorgeous to look at.
Despite the story taking place in Istanbul, the movie was filmed entirely in Australia.
The rule of three is a storytelling principle that is used a lot in this tale. Look for themes of three visually too!
There are so many interesting lines in this movie worth having long conversations about with people you watch the film.
Some very cool CGI.
Lovely soundtrack.
I’ve always loved the idea of being gifted three wishes by a genie. What would YOU wish for?

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

This is a clever “talking” movie that is dialogue-heavy, mingled with action. Even the action scenes have heavy narration. Some viewers just won’t appreciate that. Ironically, it’s the telling of the individual stories that is problematic.
There are quite a few scenes in Act 2 with nude women.
The final scene doesn’t provide the clear resolution that some viewers will want.
The trailer has set up unclear expectations for viewers.