(Photo: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)
If you're in the mood for something trippy, the trailer for Three Thousand Years of Longing really doesn't disappoint.
Idris Elba stars in the upcoming dark fantasy movie as a Djinn who offers Alithea Binnie, a solitary English scholar played by Tilda Swinton, three wishes in exchange for his freedom. The trailer introduces the movie as being "from the mad genius of [director] George Miller," and the array of fantastical visuals we get a glimpse of definitely lives up to this billing. 

Miller, whose previous movies include the Mad Max series and The Witches of Eastwick, adapted the movie from a short story by British author AS Byatt. Speaking at the Cannes Film Festival this weekend, where Three Thousand Years of Longing had its world premiere, Miller told outlets including The Guardian that this mystical story is firmly rooted in truth.
"When we went to AS Byatt to ask for the rights, she asked me why I had chosen that story, and I told her it was because it felt real," Miller recalled. "She replied that everything in this story is true, except for the appearance of the djinn. She did go to a conference in Istanbul and did meet many of the people in the story."
Three Thousand Years of Longing is due to open in U.S. theaters on August 31, so we don't have too long to wait.
Is your interest piqued by this unusual-looking movie?