Winner of the Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design award, The Terminal is a fascinating and humorous romantic comedy based on a novel premise. Directed by Steven Spielberg, who previously collaborated with Tom Hanks on The Money Pit (1986), Joe Versus The Volcano (1990), and Saving Private Ryan (1998), the film's eccentricity tends to transform an otherwise lackluster film into an endearingly comedic one. The product of veteran screenwriters Sacha Gervasi and Andrew Niccol, the latter being credited with the smash hit The Truman Show (1998), The Terminal isn't quite on par with the aforementioned Jim Carey film, but neither is it a waste of time. Sporting an out-of-the-ordinary plot and a strange array of characters, it's a film you're certain to either love or hate...
The Terminal follows the life of Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a citizen of the fictional Republic of Krakozhia, who decides to vacation in New York City. Stepping off his plane and onto the terminal at JFK International, he remains unaware of the civil war that erupted in Krakozhia during his flight, a war resulting in the dissolution of the Republic and Viktor's status as an official citizen of nowhere. Because the United States has yet to establish a working relationship with the newly created nation, Viktor can not leave the terminal. Neither can he return to Krakozhia, nor can he set foot on US soil outside the boundaries of terminal.
Following the explanation of this snafu by the head of terminal security Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), Viktor slowly, despite the language barrier, realizes the implications of the war. Dixon's first inclination is to convince Viktor he can make a run for it when the security detail changes shifts, when in reality, he plans to have Viktor arrested so he's no longer a problem. But Viktor doesn't bite. Instead, he makes a decision to stay in the terminal. The result is a hilarious and sometimes inspiring cacophony of events that force Viktor to uncover his own means of survival.
Running out of food coupons, Viktor returns luggage carts and collects the deposits so he can buy cheeseburgers at Burger King. But Dixon stops him by declaring that only security officials can gather carts. As the days pass, Dixon continues to obstruct Viktor's efforts. He makes friends with many of the airport personnel, builds his own dwelling, and acquires an undocumented job working as a carpenter inside the airport. Along the way, he also strikes up a sporadic romance with airline stewardess Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones).
When Dixon is promoted to the top position at JFK, Viktor spoils his plans with some creative interpretation on behalf of a foreign passenger detained with illegal prescription drugs. Telling Dixon the drugs are for the man's goat, rather than his father, he is able to grant the man passage much to Dixon's dismay. In the end, Viktor reaches celebrity status among the employees and regulars of the airport terminal. But will Viktor ever escape the vagabond life of living in an airport terminal?
A fascinating "what if" concept, The Terminal may be an implausible scenario, but it's nevertheless an entertaining one. Tom Hanks does a superb job in moving Viktor's character from a man who barely speaks English to a man who is fully functional in a foreign airport terminal. Not to be confused with one of the great films of its time, movie buffs could still do far worse than to spend a relaxing evening watching this one. The talent of Tom Hanks is on full display, and Steven Spielberg rarely produces a flop...
About the Author
Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a movie review site [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com] where you can find more reviews like this one of The Terminal (DVD) Review [http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/terminal-dvd.html].
