George Miller‘s “Three Thousand Years of Longing” plays as a 21st century riff on “Arabian Nights.
The unusual love story Tilda Swinton‘s English writer and Idris Elba‘s romantic Djinn does strike a few nice chords, but Miller decides to concentrate the bulk of his movie on the Djinn’s century-spanning history, which has no tension or surprising elements to it.
During the last 20 minutes though, Miller decides to concentrate on the sudden romance between Djinn and writer. It’s actually quite poignant; both characters never truly found love but realize they might be meant for each other.
I didn’t find any of the eye-popping visuals Miller usually delivers, but it’s definitely CG-swamped especially the Arabian Nights-styled stories that go from the mundane to the impenetrable. I wasn’t a fan.
Swinton and Elba, as usual, are great in their respective roles. Bring on “Furiosa”.