Textured and deep, life-like and worthy, but not a "funny" comedy as it had been advertised to be

Rating: 6/10 (6 September 2004)

"The Terminal" was advertised as a comedy, but it wasn't at all funny--- It had texture, however,and some depth, and addressed some issues of human life that may be important. It is a worthy artistic piece, so overall it was a good movie nonetheless.
One of the movie's qualities--- and both a strength and a weakness--- was the evident lack of single purpose, or, perhaps, obvious point. That is, it was unclear what the movie was actually about, and it was equally unclear what the movie was trying to say. Was it saying governments are mean? Borders are bad? Individual humans are mere victims at the whim of political and social powers? I sure couldn't tell what the movie folks thought about the issue, and that was a bit "deflating" as far as my emotional involvement went. That might also explain why some readers here, for example, criticize the movie for being over-long and/or boring.
On the other hand, raising such issues, especially in today's security conscious borders, is important. And raising the issues and providing clear and strong answers would have been a disservice to the audience. Leaving the questions unanswered, and simply percolating along, and the audience free to make up their own minds--- or at least give the matter some serious thought--- was a rarity in movies today, and a welcome bit of respect for us from Steven Spielberg as the director.
An example of the disjointed vibe some folks have mentioned--- What was Catherine Zeta Jones' character doing in this movie? What was her character's purpose, and place in the scheme of things? Dunno... and that was a bit disconcerting. On the other hand, isn't life frequently like that? Don't we often encounter diverse and dis-connected phenomena, and attach what purpose to those things as suits our own little world at any given time? I think so--- The other characters were equally non-seqeutious--- but also equally plausible in the world of the central character, played by Tom Hanks.
Overall, then, I liked this movie well enough, even with a touch of disappointment after finding that it was wasn't, as it had been advertised, a funny comedy.