Really Funny and Moving

Rating: 8/10 (20 May 2010)

I didn't know that this movie was directed by Steven Spielberg until the final credits came on screen. Though this movie has come so many times on TV, I only watched it today. I wasn't interested in it all that much before. This is a really funny and moving film.
Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) from Krakozhia enters into the US JFK terminal. Before leaving for New York, there comes a news that there is war going on internally in his country. So, now he is a citizen of nowhere and has to stay at the airport till there is peace in his own country. In the terminal, he struggles for food, place to sleep and meets good people and falls for Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is an air hostess. But Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) does everything he can to get Viktor out of his airport and hand him over to the authorities. He makes close friends in Gupta Rajan, a sweeper, and Enrique Cruz and another man. Why does he want to go to the Big Apple so badly? And will his romance with Amelia have an happy ending? And will he take the bait of Frank Dixon?
The shot in the beginning where the camera zooms from Viktor's face to show us the entire lounging area is so heart-breaking. Even though he's surrounded by people, he is all alone. Directed by the visual effects master Steven Spielberg, this is quite different from the other films he has directed (atleast the ones I have seen). He addresses the discrimination that some outsiders face in the US. Viktor is very funny in his childlike innocence. Sometimes he reminded me of Mr. Bean. Tom Hanks portrayed Viktor wonderfully. Stanley Tucci is a great actor and he does justice to his role. In the ending scene, you can actually see that he is happy for Viktor. This is the man who did everything to make Viktor's life at the airport miserable. Though nobody will keep an outsider for 9 months in a terminal, it was a good fantasy film. Catherine Zeta-Jones, God this woman doesn't look a day over 25 years; she is so beautiful. She conveyed everything that her character felt through her eyes and tears. I was pretty moved by this film. One can't, but root for Viktor and hope against hope that he gets what he wants. Dolores Torres (Zoe Saldana) is a security authority at the airport and she also has a sweet love story. I recently became her fan after Star Trek and Avatar. She is extremely talented and beautiful. All I can say, this film will not bore for you even for one second and it is very entertaining.
8/10