This is a lush and enthralling ‘fairytale’ based on A S Byatt’s short story “The Djinn in the Nightingale’s Eye” and director by Australian legend George Miller.

Tilda Swinton is ‘narratologist’ Alithea (which means truthful in Ancient Greek) who travels the world collecting stories. Her imagination is so forceful that she occasionally sees mythology come to life, something she takes in her stride. It therefore surprises her less than it might others when a misshapen glass bottle she buys in an Istanbul market turns out to contain a Djinn, played by a mesmerising Idris Elba.

And here we have the age-old dilemma about how to make good wishes, as Alithea knows, all stories about wishes are cautionary tales. We travel back through the life of the Djinn in scenes that are strongly stylised and beautifully realised. We see Solomon (Nicolas Mouawad), Sheba (Aamito Lagum), Suleiman (Lachy Hulme) and follow the ups and downs of the many years – three thousand in fact – that the Djinn has been trapped.

It’s a gorgeous tale, full of rich colours and exaggerations of culture – think Amelie as a fairytale. Swinton and Elba are perfect leads; he all deep-voiced wisdom and her bird-like intellect. There is perhaps no deep subtext to change your view of the world but it has some nice things to say about love, sacrifice and finding your heart’s desire.

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