The first trailer for 3000 Years of Longing is here, and it teases director George Miller marrying fantastical whimsy with his signature visually arresting style, including the use of surreal imagery and bright colors to make scenes come to life.
The film star Idris Elba as a Djinn, a supernatural spirit who can grant wishes, with Tilda Swinton as buttoned-up academic Dr. Alithea Binnie, who discovers him trapped inside a bottle.
The adventure really begins to unfold when Alithea, a logical and calculating individual who is largely content with life, attends a conference in Instanbul, where she picks up the enchanted piece of glass that contains the Djnn, who ends up offering her three wishes in exchange for his freedom.
However, Alithea is hesitant to take him up on his offer, being a scholar with extensive knowledge of stories and mythology, which often feature cautionary tales against accepting wishes from magical creatures, as they usually turn out to have some twisted catch to them. The Djinn pleads his case, at any rate, by enchanting Alithea with a series of fantastical stories from his past.
Will he eventually convince Alithea to accept making a wish, and if so, with all her cleverness, will it be something he can handle? We’ll just have to find out when the official Cannes Film Festival selection makes its way to theaters later this year.
With director Miller at the helm, who has shepherded such heralded crowd-pleasers as Mad Max: Fury Road and Happy Feet into theaters in the past, we’re buckling up for what’s sure to be a memorable ride with two A-listers in the starring roles.
Three Thousand Years of Longing, based on the short story The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye by A.S. Byatt, is expected to be released in cinemas over the summer.
