For a film which boasts a dialogue-driven story and attempts at being conversational and philosophical, “Three Thousand Years of Longing” ultimately feels like it has little to say. Directed by George Miller (“Mad Max: Fury Road”), the film’s ambitious scope and engrossing lore are greatly undermined by its lack of any clear direction and clumsy presentation of its themes.
Set in modern-day Istanbul, “Three Thousand Years of Longing” hones in on an ancient, magical being known as the Djinn (Idris Elba, “Beast”) who recounts his life story to a pragmatic narratologist, Alithea (Tilda Swinton, “The French Dispatch”) who is reluctant to accept his offer to grant her three wishes.
As the Djinn regales his master with his tale, one cannot help but feel somewhat moved by the instances of love and tragedy which shaped his life. However, a slew of plot contrivances, conveniences and poorly-conceived humor during flashback sequences tend to detract from the story’s intimate tone and epic scale.
Dedicating a majority of its runtime to the Djinn’s story and therefore, flashbacks, the narrative seems to have little aim up until its last 20 minutes. While these scenes work well in terms of character development, they generally fail to carry on the film’s primary action or themes, which ultimately feel shoehorned into the plot, considering how little of the film’s duration is set aside for them.
Conversely, scenes set in the present pose a little more intrigue. Throughout the film, Alithea, who possesses an expansive knowledge of stories, is pressed by her own preconceptions and sensibilities to question the Djinn’s true motives behind offering to grant her wishes. Viewing their conversation from an outside perspective, viewers may find themselves equally swayed by both the narratologist’s practicality and the Djinn’s tragic story, thus contributing to an increasing sense of anticipation as it is revealed whether she will use her wishes and, if so, what for?
Despite being mostly conversational and therefore devoid of any action, save for in its flashback sequences, the film’s exploration of Alithea and the Djinn’s individual motivations and gradually evolving relationship, which stems from their slowly increasing understanding of one another, proves to be its most compelling aspect. Boasting captivating performances from a reclusive Swinton and charming Elba, the film excels at being an engrossing character study, despite not entirely delivering on its premise’s larger implications.
With magical elements and an epic historical concept at his disposal, Miller lets loose with his display of imaginative, mind-boggling visuals. Though not as exciting or large scale as what one would see in one of his “Mad Max” films, Miller’s hypnotic, sometimes psychedelic shots effectively convey a magical feel, while also communicating his concept’s smaller, more intimate nature.
Despite all it does visually and philosophically to draw viewers into the story, “Three Thousand Years of Longing” is not capable of fully keeping one’s attention for its entirety. Opting to focus more on supplemental backstory, the film derives some entertainment value from its fable-like set-up, albeit at the expense of its more important, arguably more interesting major themes and story beats. While it may warrant some praise for Miller’s ambitious vision, captivating visuals and its leads’ stellar performances, the film’s failure to fully capitalize on its thought-provoking ideas renders it to be only a minor spectacle, rather than truly magical.
