movie's 411

>> THE TERMINAL (2004)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Stanley Tucci, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and more ...
Director: Steven Spielberg
Genre: Comedy




this movie opens today (fri, 6/18) in theaters nationwide, but i saw the screening (yes, free screening) early this week, and it was just great. the story itself was kinda, .. well.. blah! but since "the terminal" casts the everyman guy tom hanks and directed by steven spielberg, they make it worthwhile to sit through the entire movie. if it had been made by any filmmaker other than steven spielberg and featured any star other than tom hanks, i doubt it came out as nice. it's a classic spielberg who's always able to put a little humanity to the movie he makes and the character he develops. he just did it again!

the terminal is about a guy named viktor navorski (tom hanks), who's just arrived at JFK airport from a fictional republic of krakozia. while viktor was in the air, his country was overthrown in a coup, making viktor's passport and visa invalid. the immigration couldn't let him in because united states cannot recognize the country while it's still in war during the political revolution. as unyielding airport security executive, frank dixon (stanley tucci) explains that viktor is not allowed to enter america. with little understanding of english, viktor gets the point when he was told that he cannot leave the international departures and arrivals' lounge. he's a man without a country, trapped in a bureaucratic nightmare.

the plot continues as viktor tries to survive in the international lounge. america is only behind the revolving door, yet, it seems so far away. although he's officially free within the lounge, he could just try to break free.. but being a foreigner in a foreign land, he wants to make sure that he's doing the right thing. even after frank told him that viktor's a crack in the system and the guard won't be watching the doors, he knows he's being trapped. frank thought that when viktor leaves the airport, he can be detained for entering the country illegally and can be someone else's problem, not his. on the other hand, frank is wondering what's inside the planter's nut can viktor's carrying around with him everywhere. "a promise", viktor says.

viktor tries as much as he can to make the lounge his new "home", and while he stays, he meet people working in the lounge and become his friends, played by chi mcbridge, diego luna and kumar pallana. he learns english by comparing notes from books with the ones in his language. then he saw amelia (cahterine zeta-jones), a flight attendant who comes to the airport twice a month and got picked up by a guy who turns out to be married. amelia thought that viktor was just another frequent flyer passenger that she met in the airport on her stops to JFK, and viktor is falling in love with her. amelia thought her life as she finally finds someone who really listens to her.

the film does allow both hanks and spielberg to show off a loose, giddy feel for comedy that neiher has let shine in a long time. hanks's hesitant, barely english-speaking navorski owes to classic and other near-silent physical comedy performances. in a way it kinda reminds me of kofka from "taxi". spielberg also gets to showcase his crackerjack timing as well, especially in a carefully engineered meeting between amelia and viktor during which airport workers run interference. tucci's and zeta-jones's characters exist in counterpoint to hanks's viktor, so they're left remarkably unrounded, and hanks's gifted work is also a tic-riddled, showy bit of genius acting that leaves you aware that you are watching someone act.

the film is somewhat political. it kinda gives a look of how paranoid america is, in a comic way of course, and how the homeland security (used to be the immigration office) tries to secure the country. the subtexts is about a mass of minimum-wage, underpand and underappreciated kids, immigrants, and minorities working hard to make the american dream possible for JFK's busy travelers. the terminal is an infuriatingly minor work courtesy of two major talents. there's no doubt that spielberg gives a well-directed movie, a vintage, a classic. hanks is just genius, there's no doubt about it. with 2 oscars in his belt, you just cannot question his talent. his character is probably the best thing he did as close to "forrest gump". and it surprised me that when i thought being "jayus" and work on "plesetan" jokes only a courtesy of indonesian kids.. there are some jokes that's similarly jayus in english.

it's a worth-see movie if you're a big fans of spielberg and hanks.. yeah, of zeta-jones too (love her new hairdo!). but i have to admit, as much as i feel entertained with this movie.. something's just a little off. maybe it was the romance, maybe because the story was too stretched .. i don't know. but whatever it is.. it's original and it's fun to watch and cleverly entertaining.

[previous movie: the day after tomorrow]

>> rated by :: sLesTa | [ ]

<< back to movies411 | the classics >>