Airline food at the mall

Rating: 9/10 (1 July 2004)

We went to see the film without any preconceptions and frankly, once we accepted the impossibility of this situation, we fell right under its spell. Yes, it's a bit long, yet it kept our attention until the end.
I have no idea who pitched this tale to Mr. Spielberg. Evidently, the story is a far cry from reality to people like Viktor, in the situation he encounters upon arriving in New York. Viktor would have been held by the Immigration authorities, then processed, and sent to a detention center to wait for his appointment to see a judge, who ultimately would have decided his fate.
No one in this situation would have been allowed to stay unguarded in the terminal, as in the case of this stateless man. Then again, we wouldn't have had a film, at all. The screen play twists the facts to adapt the story for a Tom Hanks vehicle.
At the beginning it takes a while to adjust to Tom Hanks supposedly Russian accent. The inner life of the terminal is brought to life by the people that play minor roles in the movie.
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg make a great team. The director and its star compliment one another. Mr. Hanks is delightful as this man who, through no fault of his own, is stuck by the red tape encountered at his arrival in this country, at the present time.
Catherine Zeta Jones' flight attendant is a fake. Ms Zeta Jones makes us like her, in spite of knowing she is as deep as a Danielle Steele novel. When this woman selects a Napoleon biography from the book store, many people laughed knowing a flight attendant and Napoleon are the equivalent of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
Stanley Tucci, Diego Luna, Kumar Pallana, add a comic relief to the film.

The only remaining question is whether all the brands that are prominently displayed in the terminal, (this could have easily been a shopping mall), paid the film makers to have their brands displayed in the film.