Home is wherever you find it

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2006)

I've never really given much thought to what goes on at an airport, beyond the fact that you just wait until your flight arrives and then get the hell out of there. But The Terminal, directed by Steven Spielberg, paints an interesting picture, and crafts a compelling story out of the exploits of one immigrant who finds that an airport has become his home away from home.
Apparently based on a true story, The Terminal reunites Spielberg with Tom Hanks for the third time. Hanks plays foreigner Viktor Navorski, who has come to New York's JFK airport from the fictional country Krakosia. But while in transit, Viktor finds himself the victim of a bizarre twist of bureaucratic fate.
War has broken out in Krakosia, and Viktor's VISA has just expired. That means he can't go home, and since Krakosia is a country not recognised by the USA, Viktor cannot leave the airport. Now trapped between two worlds, Viktor begins the slow process of turning JFK airport into his home.
There is something inherently fascinating to this film, which is what drew me to it. Is it possible to make a life for yourself within the confines of an airport terminal? Tom Hanks explored this territory before in Cast Away, where he had to make a life for himself on a desert island. Hanks admirably rises to the challenge here with relish, where JFK has become his own personal stomping grounds.
The Terminal is quite logical in the way it explores Viktor's predicament. He speaks hardly any English, and manages to pick it up gradually from the televisions and travelogue books from the airport's various shops.
He pays for food from finding loose change in pay phones and trolley carts, and eventually gets work on a construction crew. Viktor slowly becomes almost like a permanent addition to the staff, and an expected sight. He starts to make friends with the personnel at the airport, who become almost like an extended family to Viktor.
He plays matchmaker between a janitor and a clerk, diffuses a potentially dangerous situation with a confused foreigner, and ultimately, falls in love himself. Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is an air hostess who comes and goes through the airport from time to time. Although she is unaware of Viktor's unique situation, they strike up an unlikely romance.
The Terminal is at it's most effective during the first half of the film, as Viktor gets to know his new home. And I love the little details. Co-written by Andrew Niccols of The Truman Show, there are times where it has some of that film's brilliance. There are some fantastic subtle gags such as the cameras watching Viktor, and looking the other way when he gets suspicious. The eyes of the airport are on him always, trying to frustrate his every move, and like Truman, it is always gratifying watching Viktor come out on top.
Hanks brings some of the innocent charm that made Big so entertaining to this role, and it's always interesting to watch him strike up friendships with airline personnel. I suppose because it's difficult to imagine them as people with lives, rather than just faceless drones behind a counter.
One thing that makes The Terminal worth the price of admission is the sheer amount of time and effort that has gone into recreating an actual airport terminal. It was converted from a disused hangar, and includes over 2000 extras. It is so huge and multilayered that it's a marvel to behold. The sheer amount of shops and restaurants could be interpreted as product placement, but I suppose that's unavoidable, and as I said, the film makes the attempt to flesh out the people who work in those places.
Inevitably for a Spielberg film, things eventually come to an uplifting ending in the vein of Frank Capra. But by that time, Hanks has won us over with his bumbling goofiness that we can't help rooting for him. Also Stanley Tucci makes an impression as the head of operations, who is always trying to find ways to get Viktor out of his airport. It's a good role because he treads a fine line between a complete villain, and a hassled bureaucrat who is in much of a bind as poor Viktor.
If the ending has a fault, it's Viktor's motivations for coming to America in the first place. The payoff is a little unsatisfying, and his romance with Amelia just peters out without even an explanation. But despite these minor flaws, there is still much to savour here. Although not a perfect film, there are times where it manages to create feelings of dislocation, pleasantly reminiscent of Lost in Translation.
Overall, a fantastic performance (as well as accent) from Hanks, some fine ensemble playing, and one of the most truly extraordinary set-pieces in recent memory make The Terminal an amiable and sweet tale of a man without a country.