Do you really, really like stories?
It's probably a requirement for enjoying "Three Thousand Years of Longing," in which a key character is a narratologist played by Tilda Swinton (it means she's interested in stories and why we tell them). She's speaking at a conference similar to a couple I've attended in order to see my professor cousin present papers. In fact, those conferences — where smart people gather to discuss literature — seem like the ideal place for "Three Thousand Years," in which a professor insists that "stories were once the only way to make sense of our bewildering existence."
Initially, "bewildered" is not a word you'd use to describe Alithea (Swinton), who is so confident and controlled that she proceeds with a lecture even when she's in the middle of passing out. When she wakes, she's visited by a djinn (Idris Elba), who pledges to grant her three wishes. Being an expert on fairy tales, Alithea knows those wishes can backfire but, as she prods the djinn to tell his story and provide some context, she begins to question her life choices. She wonders if she has really lived her life and, because Elba is standing in front of her in a bathrobe, she begins to fall in love.
