A story of sealed items

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2006)

Comedy has never been Steven Spielberg's specialty. "1941" was the only serious comedy made by Spielberg and it became one of his biggest failures. Other than that, Spielberg infused his other movies with subtle touches of humor, but it was essentially a small tool that helped to keep contact with the viewer.
"The Terminal" is by far the greatest straight-forward comedy ever directed by Steven Spielberg. The genius of this movie is that it turns a very serious and worrying situation into an avalanche of errors and funny situations, just like Kubrick turned nuclear holocaust into a big farce in "Dr. Strangelove".
The always excellent Tom Hanks stars as Viktor Navorski, a man from Krakozhia who wants to get an autograph from famous saxophonist Benny Golson for his deceased father who was an avid jazz fan.
However, the situation becomes more complicated upon his arrival at JFK airport. Viktor learns that a coup occurred in his country and his passport is not valid anymore. Thereby, he cannot penetrate in America and he cannot return in his country neither. The only solution is that he must live in the international transit lounge until another solution becomes possible.
Viktor speaks very little English and he doesn't completely understand his situation. Anyway, he settles himself into the airport (Gate 67, to be more specific) and a new life begins for him.
Sometimes, we believe that an actor gets a couple of big roles and then, he only becomes a name. Tom Hanks is not that kind of actor. He won Oscars for "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump" and he got notable roles in "Apollo 13" and "Cast Away", but his role in "The Terminal" is one of his greatest.
In a sense, Viktor Navorski looks like Forrest Gump to me. His language is not clear (for different reasons) and his situation makes the other 'normal' people looking the same way.
An airport is a very ordinary place. Ordinary and almost dull, especially for regular travelers. But Spielberg transforms this boring place into a fantastic environment, almost like a country inside a country. We discover the type of people working there, what is hidden behind every door and the very characteristics of the building.
Ultimately, the airport becomes a destination itself.
"The Terminal" is a story of sealed items. Of course, there's the airport which is Viktor's prison for a long time. But there's also that special peanut can, which is the fuel of Viktor's travel. This blue box intrigues not only the characters, but ourselves as well. And when we learn what it contains, it becomes the most heart-warming moment of the whole movie.
Also heart-warming are the scenes when Viktor is about to leave the terminal at the end of the movie. We see the bunch of friends met by Viktor and they follow him like fans who follow a rock star.
This is the kind of story that we all love. A man wants to get a very little thing and he gets it, but he also gets much much more that he wanted to get. And this element is well-highlighted by Spielberg and the tens of characters.
So, "The Terminal" is a very comical movie, but it is also serious and it's a perfect display of what is good in ourselves.
This is definitely a movie to grab, before it flies away.