Contrived and over-sentimental

Rating: 3/10 (11 July 2017)

I watched this on TV some years ago and did not like it. A few nights ago it was on again and I decided to give it another chance. Hanks plays Viktor, coming to America from a fictional Eastern European country and finding himself stranded at the airport.
A revolution erupted in his country and his passport is confiscated. Instead of being deported or arrested and because of the maniacal behavior of the airport security supervisor, Viktor finds himself living in the terminal.
Hanks plays Viktor with a heavy accent and mannerism, but does not manage to make his character sympathetic. An eccentric who does not want to divulge the reason for his journey, Viktor finds support from airport workers and gets mixed in their life. He also manages to carry on a very unlikely love story with beautiful flight attendant Amelia (Zeta-Jones), but the love story feels contrived at best.
My idea of airport terminals is that they are the quintessential passing-through area. My idea of nightmare would be to be stuck in one, so for me it is impossible to understand why Viktor decides to stay rather than taking his chances by getting out. This is linked to the reason of this journey, but it is also very contrived.
Claustrophobic, pointless and annoying, especially when we finally get the revelation of Viktor's purpose in New York – yet another over-sentimental cliché from Spielberg.