The Terminal (2004)

Director: Steven Spielberg
Story: Andrew Niccol, Sacha Gervasi 
Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones 
Music: John Williams
Time: 128 minutes
Bottom-line: Hanks’ terrific performance and few funny incidents are the lone bright spots

  A slight disappointment from Steven Spielberg this time, I must say. After Spielberg’s previous collaboration with Hanks in Catch Me if you Can, I expected something better in this 2004 film: The Terminal, but I only got a less impressive film. The film is based on Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian who stayed 17 years in Terminal I of the Charles de Gaulle International Airport. As the title says, the film takes place entirely inside the JFK International Airport.

Hanks as Viktor Navorski

Viktor Navorski (Hanks) arrives at the JFK Airport. He comes from an imaginary country called Krakozhia and can speak only Krakozhian, with little English. Soon after he lands, a civil war breaks out in his country, thereby making his passport and visa invalid. So, Viktor is stuck at the transit lounge of the airport, as he cannot go back to his own country, nor enter the USA. With no choice, he settles there with only a couple of suitcases, and importantly, a Planter peanut can (you will know the reason for that later). Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), a US Customs Official is irritated by the behaviour of Viktor, and tries to get him to enter US, so that the cops can arrest him. Meanwhile, Viktor befriends several people at the airport, including an airhostess named Amelia (Zeta-Jones). Does Viktor get back to his country, or does Dixon manage to get him arrested? What all can a man possibly do at an airport terminal? Watch this Spielberg film to find out.

Catherine Zeta-Jones as Amelia

Hats-off to Tom Hanks for his brilliant performance. It may not be worthy of the Oscar, but on the other hand, it may be the only thing that makes the film good. Speaking a Krakozhian accent may not be that difficult, and even less difficult for someone of Hanks’ caliber, but what I like about his role is that it is his acting that makes the comic scenes funny. When he lands, you can see that he is new to America (or rather, new to any foreign country). After landing, he is eating some snacks and shaving casually, without the slightest idea of what troubles he has to face because of his country’s war. When Dixon interrogates him, you can see that he is very poor in English, and also very frank and gullible. Dixon asks him his details, and Viktor replies, “Yellow taxicab please,” in a most innocent manner. Hanks’ acting in the beginning, when he finally understands his country’s pitiful condition, and his acting when he reads the English with difficulty, is also excellent.

Tucci as Dixon

Some other comic scenes include the scenes that show how Viktor earns money. He sees that arranging the trolleys in the stand gets the person a quarter for every trolley. As normal travelers, we don’t have time for that. But as a person stuck in the terminal, he starts collecting trolleys from all around the place (sometimes even pushing people and stuff placed on them!) to earn enough money to eat a nice meal at Burger King. As I said before, these scenes may or may not sound funny, but when you see Hanks’ expression and acting during these sequences, you will certainly laugh. Hanks is supported well by Tucci. He plays a character that is bent on getting rid of an innocent traveler, for apparently no reason at all! Tucci's comic expressions when Viktor foils his plans of getting rid of him are very funny.

A still from the film: Viktor arranges the chairs
in the lounge to make a bed for himself.

Now, the story is a bore. It starts out well, as we are initially curious to know what all a man can do at an airport. We laugh during the funny scenes as well. But as the story goes on, we kind of get the feeling that both Viktor (and the writers for that matter) run out of ideas of what to do at a terminal. We see Viktor building stuff and repairing walls at the airport, and I don’t think this seems realistic, and I can’t believe the authorities would permit him to do all that. The ending may seem far-fetched, but don’t think so. But what I feel far-fetched are the stories or the parts some other characters play in the film. The characters of Gupta, an Indian employee, and Enrique Cruz have kind of unrealistic (and the latter’s part is sort of necessary as well) roles. However, by the end of the story, their roles play a part (but still minor ones), as we find that Viktor has somehow (perhaps unknowingly) influenced their lives. The score, by John Williams, is as always, superb.

I am not American, but I feel that this film mainly shows the negative attitude of Americans in general. None of the airport authorities are friendly to Viktor, and they all treat him badly. Few Indians, especially Muslims, also have some incidents in history where they have been humiliated by the airport authorities of USA, somewhat similar to what Viktor experiences. Anyway, this sort of behaviour by the characters also adds to the film’s story.

To sum up, Spielberg’s The Terminal is a film that once again shows the class of Tom Hanks’ acting. Stanley Tucci has also acted well, and Catherine Zeta-Jones has only a small role in the film anyway. The comic scenes are made funny mainly (if not only) by Hanks’ (and Tucci’s) acting, and so credit must go to the actor(s) once again. Albeit the story is a bore, the acting and the comedy make up for the flaws.

My Rating: 3.5/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 60%