The-Terminal

The Terminal

~And you thought you had a long layover~

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By Todd Karella
June 18, 2004

Amelia-Catherine Zeta-Jones

Viktor Navorski-Tom Hanks

Let's go and wet down all the hallways

Frank Dixon-Stanley Tucci

Just stamp the poor guy's card. It's been 9 months

There's no place like home.

If you've ever been stuck in an airport for any length of time then you know how every moment seems like a lifetime. But if you're Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) you really are there for an eternity.
The latest film by director Steven Spielberg takes a foreign tourist from the imaginary country of Krakozia and leaves him stranded alone at JFK airport.

Upon landing Viktor finds that there has been a miltary coup in his country throwing everything into chaos. Not only are his visas and passport invalid, but his home country is gone as well which makes his return impossible.
With today's concern for homeland security, Viktor finds himself at the mercy of the head of customs, Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) who is more concerned with proper procedure than helping out his fellow man.
Frank is so concerened with his own personal career and

promotion that he ignores the fact that poor Viktor can only understand a few English phrases and has no idea why he is being detained.
   The one thing he does know is that he is told to stay in the airport terminal until he gets clearance to leave.
   Being an honest and decent human being, Viktor continues to wait day after day, week after week until he can enter the U.S.
   It's a good thing that he is resourceful, as he teaches himself English and even finds a way to make some money in order to survive.

As the days pass he turns the terminal into a home. Finding a section of the airport closed for repair, he begins to construct his own home away from home.
   The entire time this is going on, the customs agents watch and take bets on how long it will be before he decides to simply walk out the door.
   Instead, he continues to stay as he makes friends with the employees at the airport.
   His first friend is a food service employee (Diego Luna) who

smuggles him airline meals in exchange for help in wooing the beautiful INS agent (Zoe Saldana). Since he sees her every day trying to get his paperwork approved, he constantly asks her questions so he can report back to his friend.
Viktor even manages to find love as he stumbles into a Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is a flight attendant that passes through every few weeks. Unfortuantely, she has had nothing but bad relationships with men and doesn't know how to appreciate one that is honest and genuine.
The film deals with personalities and the commonalities of all people. It also deals with the topic of waiting, as everyone is waiting for something. Viktor is waiting to go to New York in order to fulfill a promise to his father which he had been waiting for. Amelia is waiting for her love, and Frank is

waiting for his promotion and for Viktor to leave.
While the film is sweet and innocent, the ending leaves you with a bitter taste. Not only does the relationship between Viktor and

Amelia end poorly, but when he finally gets to leave it's very anticlimactic taking only a few minutes to complete.
   The other problem is the general premise. While it's easy to give into the fact that you could get stuck in an airport, nobody ever brings him an interpreter or any one from social services. If nothing else, you might expect someone to call a reporter and try to get him some community support through the media. He might have spent some time there, but certainly not nine months.
   Even with a few plot problems Tom Hanks has picked another wonderful character to play that is reminiscent of Forest Gump. His mannerisms and accent are precise while his character is truly loveable.
   This role may not win Hanks another Oscar, but it is a fun movie that is definitely worth seeing.