Since its world premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival last May 20, this unique offering has been garnering rave reviews. As early as now, Variety has described it as what could be “Cannes’ First Best Picture Contender” From watching the trailer, we get the feeling that this won’t be your typical fantasy offering. And after all, it’s an indie film. We’re excited to see where this story takes us when we finally see it.
In the recent movie, Three Thousand Years of Longing, you are taken into a magical and somewhat dark world. The story follows Alithea Binnie, a scholar who’s spent a great portion of her life devoted to her work — apart from the fact that she’s had a husband once. She then goes on a trip to Istanbul for a conference. There, she has a chance encounter with a Djinn (played by Idris Elba), who offers to grant her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. As we all know, the process of granting wishes has its consequences.
If you’re thinking that one of the leads in the trailer, Alithea, is familiar, you’ve probably seen her in the famous franchise, Narnia, as the powerful and deceiving White Witch, Jadis. Tilda Swinton is definitely known for her statuesque physique and commanding screen presence, which is why she is easily remembered. Combined with their top caliber acting chops, in our opinion, she’s one of the more underrated actors nowadays. Want to watch more of her work? Read on for some of our picks.
War Requiem (1989)
Earlier in her career, Swinton starred opposite the legendary Laurence Olivier (yes, as in Laurence Olivier Awards) in War Requiem (1989). This was Olivier’s last work before he died. The wordless, experimental film portrays the poetry of Wilfred Owen through wordless depictions of events from Owen’s life, stock footage of 20th-century wars, and music written by Benjamin Britten. The story is set in World War I, following a British soldier named Owen (Nathaniel Parker) who lives in a world surrounded by cruelty. He finds hope in his love for an army nurse (Tilda Swinton), but at the same time, he accepts his fate in the current war.
The Deep End (2001)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLujA_W9ZpM
Tilda’s first Golden Globe nomination came from The Deep End, where she playes a mom suspecting that her gay son is his boyfirend’s killer. Aside from this recognition, this breakthrough role also won her Best Actress from the Boston Society of Film Critics Awards. In the movie, she stars alongside Jonathan Tucker (who plays her son), Josh Lucas, and Goran Visnjic.
Narnia: The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)
For something lighter and entertaining, catch her playing the white witch in Narnia: : The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe. This installment of the franchise follows the first adventure of siblings Lucy (Georgie Henley), Peter (William Moseley), Edmund (Skandar Keynes), and Susan (Anna Popplewell). There, they encounter a magical lion, Aslan (Liam Neeson), and take on their destiny to fight the evil White Witch, Jadis.
The Beach (2002)
If you are a Leonardo Dicaprio fan as well, then you are in for a treat in this adventure-drama about Richard, a young man who travels to Thailand during his college gap year. There, he finds himself in possession of a map which is said to lead to an island paradise. Though it received mixed reviews, it now has a 6.6 rating, which is not bad, all things considered. Either you love it or you hate it. It is definitely intriguing though.
Constantine (2005)
Constantine is based on the DC Comics’ Hellblazer and stars Keanu Reeves as John Constantine, an exorcist with the ability to perceive and communicate with half-angels and half-demons. Included in the cast is Tilda Swinton who plays an interesting version as Angel Gabriel. Though it opened to mix reviews, it earned an impressive gross of $230.9 million worldwide, which is a win considering its production budget was between of $70–100 million
Though she’s relatively underrated, throughout her career, Swinton has garnered several awards including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (Michael Clayton, 2007) , the British Academy Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Young Adam, 2003), the European Film Award for Best Actress (We Need to Talk About Kevin, 2011), and the Volpi Cup for Best Actress (Edward II, 1991). Apart from these wins, she has nominations for five Critics’ Choice Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Which of the films are you keen on watching? With a talent like hers, we are definitely looking forward to seeing Swinton’s future work! If you’ve watched the movie already, don’t forget to drop your thoughts in the comments section. See you again here at our home in the online universe.
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Interested to book an Advance or Block screening of “Three Thousand Years of Longing”? Call: 8633-7361 loc. 102/112 for more information.
