Three Thousand Years of Longing is the type of movie that will either be gloriously twisted in its storytelling or a hot mess relying on its stunning visuals. There’s no in-between. Even then, we’re insanely interested in what this cautionary tale has in store for our leads. Tilda Swinton plays a solitary woman named Alithea Binnie. She’s an academic who claims to be ok with the way that her life is going. Things change for her on a trip to Instanbul where she buys a bottle as a souvenir.
What she doesn’t know is that it’s actually the vessel that holds a djinn played by Idris Elba. And from the scene that we see in Three Thousand Years of Longing we’re going to take a step into this djinn’s past and discover the many paths and wishes that others have asked of the djinn. And from Alithea’s responses in the official trailer, she knows that there are risks to this and that nothing comes free. So what does she do? Where does she go from here? And will she fall in love with the djinn?
That last part is more speculation on our part than anything. A story like this, where two lonely souls find each other, is the perfect ground to build a love like none they’ve experienced before. And honestly, the cover image of the official trailer is giving us vibes that there is going to be a connection between these two that they won’t be able to ignore. So, go for it Elba and Swinton. We’re here for it and this trippy journey through the history of a man bound by power and the woman that can free him.
Check out the trailer for Three Thousand Years of Longing here:
Three Thousand Years of Longing hits theaters on August 31, 2022.
