Three Thousand Years of Longing Music By Tom Holkenborg / Junkie XL

Dr. Alithea Binnie (Tilda Swinton) is an academic – content with  life and a creature of reason. While in Istanbul attending a conference, she happens to encounter a Djinn (Idris Elba) who offers her three wishes in exchange for his freedom. At first, she doubts that he is real and she knows all the cautionary tales of wishes gone wrong. But the Djinn pleads his case and eventually she is beguiled and makes a wish that surprises them both.

Directed by George Miller, Three Thousand Years of Longing originally made its debut at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival and features music by the multiplatinum-selling producer, composer, musician and educator Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL

Available everywhere now, the album features score music written by Holkenborg for the fantasy film by Academy Award®-winning director George Miller. The project is the latest in an ongoing creative partnership between Holkenborg and Miller, with the duo working together on the 2015 blockbuster Mad Max: Fury Road and the franchise’s highly-anticipated prequel Furiosa. Also included within the 9-track collection is “Cautionary Tale,” an original song performed by Matteo Bocelli. Written by Holkenborg in collaboration with George Miller and Augusta Gore, the emotionally resonant track features as the film’s end title theme.

Of the soundtrack, composer Tom Holkenborg says, “This movie spans 3000 years, and George wanted a score that could move from the ancient to the contemporary, while capturing all the emotions the characters experience in this film. This is really apparent in the main melody, which took two years to create! The goal was to compose something that sounds like it has always been here, and always will be. Music is essential to George’s vision, and the arrangements had to be incredibly precise to convey the feeling captured on screen. Working with George is a joy, he continues to make me a better composer, and I am honored to call him a collaborator and a friend.” 

“Tom has a very comprehensive understanding of music. He understood that this film had to evoke the magical feeling about the wonders and catastrophes of this world,” adds director George Miller “His score allows you to lose yourself in the story from the opening credits until the end.” 

Of his inclusion on the soundtrack as the featured vocalist on “Cautionary Tale,” Matteo Bocelli says, “I’m so honored to be singing this song. It’s incredibly beautiful; timeless with real depth of feeling. Tom Holkenborg did an amazing job. It elevates the movie even further thanks to Tom’s incredible talent. I can’t wait to start performing it live and see the audience’s reaction.”  

Three Thousand Years of Longing is now playing exclusively in theaters.