What would you ask of a genie if one came out of a lamp? It is with this delicate choice that the solitary archaeologist, played by Tilda Swinton, is confronted in Three thousand years waiting for you by George Miller. This appearance will change the lady’s opinion on love, which is not surprising when you know that the jinn released in Istanbul is embodied by Idris Elba.
The creator of the saga madmax plays it romantic by adapting The Djinn, a short story by AS Byatt. Presented out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, this puzzling parenthesis in the filmmaker’s career caused a breath of magic to blow over the Croisette. “I like the idea of surprising others and also myself. I had dreamed of mounting this project for more than twenty years, ”confided the director of 77 Printemps to 20 minutes.
Fun and philosophical
This series of tales is surprising in more ways than one, in particular because it stands out completely from the work of George Miller by offering stories worthy of 1001 nights. “This film is not only the meeting between two solitary beings, insists George Miller. He also talks about the impact stories can have on our lives. The genie recounts his wanderings and the wishes he had to grant to a woman specializing in the analysis of legends who will emerge deeply enriched by his tales.
“George asked us to consider our characters in a playful way by trying to underline the common points that we could have with them, remembers Tilda Swinton. He was looking for raw emotions. » The voluntarily kitsch aesthetic brings a total change of scenery to the public carried away in a magical world. “Finding a storytelling atmosphere was essential,” says the filmmaker. This film, however, evokes current themes such as the difficulty of communicating and isolation, which is all the more ironic since it was written before the Covid-19 pandemic. »
We find the soul of a child amazed in front of Three thousand years waiting for you. The whole, less naive than it seems, questions the choices of life and the capacity to love. “This film is not so far from madmax, laughs George Miller. Everything is in the eye of the person watching because in both cases, I offer philosophical tales where everyone can find what they want to find. Just like the heroine, we let ourselves be carried away into a fascinating universe, between magic and modernity, where emotions are as vivid as the images of the Djinn’s world are colorful.