George Miller is not a man of small pictures. With the action scenes in Mad Max: Fury Road, he not only blew the enthusiastic audience off the cinema seats worldwide. The director can also be profound and more introverted – without losing the sense of the great visual spectacle.
His fantasy drama Three Thousand Years Of Longing has finally been streamable on WOW/Sky as a subscription * since April 1, 2023. And that’s worthwhile for fans of his previous films as well as for those who like it a little quieter.
What is Three Thousand Years of Longing about?
Three Thousand Years Of Longing begins with a single Alithea (Tilda Swinton) who has dedicated her life to researching and analyzing myths and tales. In the fictional stories, love, heroism and life itself seem so much bigger and better than in the ugly reality. She ignores the creeping feeling of loneliness.
That all changes, however, when Alithea, on a business trip to Istanbul, buys a glass bottle and tries to clean it in her hotel room. Because a Djinn (Idris Elba) appears who has had all the experiences that the researcher only knows from stories. She has three wishes, he says, then he would finally be free. But Alithea has no wishes, at least she thinks so. So the Djinn is trapped in a room with her and begins to tell his tragic story.
For thousands of years he has felt love and desire, but also the pain that comes when you lose your love. Suddenly, Alithea has a wish that she thought she had buried for a long time: she wants to be loved like that one day.
From sci-fi dystopia to mystical fantasy world: George Miller can do more than loud spectacle
For the tales of the Djinn, the film leaves the hotel room and throws itself into a detailed staged world of magic, deities and magical creatures. His stories about his tragic love for the Queen of Sheba or the reign of terror of an Ottoman heir to the throne span over 3000 years.
Even if the stories of the Djinn are visually and narratively impressive in different ways, each one hits you emotionally. Behind the fantasy world, which has been told over thousands of years, there is more than the great spectacle that George Miller masters so masterfully. When Alithea and the Djinn come to an agreement and leave the hotel room, the film shifts into a completely different gear.
The moments between the two don’t rush adrenaline through your veins, they open your chest and expose your heart. At its core is the unusual film a declaration of love to the greatest of all risks: love. And it’s exciting, beautiful and dangerous even if it doesn’t happen over 3000 years, but quite unspectacular and small in the now.
More streaming tips in the podcast: The 20 best series starts in April
Need more fresh streaming tips? You can find the most exciting series that you can stream on Netflix, Prime Video, Sky, Disney+ and more in April here in the monthly preview:
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