Cannes review: Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba in George Miller’s “Three Thousand Years of Nostalgia”

when it is distributed Shill Max On the ground, George Miller’s films are very diverse and unpredictable in nature, and he has never traveled in time, narrating a new distant drama, Three thousand years of nostalgia. Without filming this competition at the Cannes Film Festival, the director returns to ancient texts to explore the nature and power of legendary stories that have endured for centuries in a markedly creative and slightly offensive way; The film starts off pretty high, but only slowly falls apart as it approaches its modern ending.

Based on AS Byatt’s 1994 short story “Ginny in the Nightingale’s Eye” and adapted by Miller and his daughter Augusta Gore, the film is characterized by a thirst for intellect and investigation, immeasurably well crafted and delivered at the highest level. . Film adaptations of two sensationally good actresses, Tilda Swinton and Idris Elba, which remain in full screen; No matter what they do, you feel like you can watch these two forever.

Shot under highly regulated conditions during Covid, the film is delivered with exhilarating speed and intellect when Dr. Alithea Bean (Swinton) arrives in Istanbul, where she settles down at her “Agatha Christie Room” hotel. Miller spreads extraordinary information, nuances and feelings here in a very short time and never lets it seem like a mere exposition; It is a superior, multi-layered film, without any kind of projection or that allows the viewer to hear it.

In short, Alithea encounters an unusual sight which is a giant boy in her room, literally filling the space, speaking ancient Greek (before switching to English) and quickly realizes she has a universe all the time. She can’t help but remind you of the funny green giant.

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Ginny, as she is called, doesn’t seem to be wearing any dresses, even though she can’t understand what’s going on around her lower half. It is difficult to know what to do in the beginning; Is she a lost soul, rejected by another world, forced to wander forever in space and time if she seeks her moment to return to where she came from? The one physical feature that sets him apart from others are the oddly shaped ears that seem useless and honestly take attention away from the perfectly formed aspects of her physique.

Alitea, of course, is delighted by this unexpected encounter; How many times do you allow yourself to travel through time with a person who has direct and intimate knowledge of the world as they once did? At the same time, the journey is heavily overshadowed by the question of why Ginny is here on this day and how she intends to deal with her exile if that is the case.

It is a curious narrative construction that begins intriguing, but becomes increasingly dubious and less educational. Yarn soon returns to the realm of literary and quasi-religious mythology by digging in the backyard courtesy of The Djinn.

Since he cares, I was stuck in my own forgetfulness “and had” extravagant bad luck “even though I was busy with important legendary moments.

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It is obvious that Miller has always been drawn to mythic mutations, and there are many of them here, as Gin guides Alitea in three different episodes, in exchange for which he will theoretically be given his freedom. The first refers to Queen Sheba, a story of unrequited love; The second includes the Suleiman Gate Slave; The third includes a ruined love story in the 1850s.

It is in these later stories that the film develops to some degree; Visually stunning, they still emphasize too much and also attract characters who come and go quickly and aren’t evenly involved and don’t make a deal.

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The real story, which is between Jin and Alitea, is side-by-side for all of this, although obviously, going back to the finale, there is considerable anxiety involved as Jinn tries to decide her ultimate fate. Sweetness and closeness are welcome, but right now it’s not easy to put the flower back in a rose.

Despite the narrative problems, it is a great pleasure to have both Elba and Swinton regularly, who are alert to all the possibilities the script presents and then add many more to the deal; Both performances are nothing short of amazing. People with a constant interest in mythology and secular stories also stand out for this, and the work of Miller’s cinematographer John Seale is another reason to see him on the big screen.