Nice Spielberg-Hanks collaboration

Rating: 9/10 (12 July 2007)

Tom Hanks is Viktor Navorski, a man without a country who lives in "The Terminal," a 2004 film directed by Steven Spielberg. While Viktor is en route to the U.S. to fulfill a wish of his late father's, there is a coup in the Eastern European country he calls home. When he lands at JFK airport, he finds he cannot enter the U.S. because his country is no longer recognized by the U.S., and all flights home have been canceled. While waiting in this limbo, Viktor takes up residence in the Terminal, to the chagrin of one of the administrators (Stanley Tucci) for whom Viktor is becoming somewhat of an embarrassment.
This is a delightful film, if a bit too long, about the true meaning of home, about resourcefulness, and how a dream can propel a person to keep going no matter the odds. There are some funny scenes such as one of the custodial people, Gupta, watching people slide across his wet floors, Viktor taking apart seats at Gate 67 to make a bed, walking across the terminal in his bathrobe, and gathering luggage wagons so he can turn them in for quarters (he lost the food vouchers he was given). A brilliant contractor in his own country, Viktor even finds work in the terminal when his talent is recognized by the boss of one of the crews doing repairs on the building.
Viktor makes many friends at the Terminal and even falls in love with a flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones) who is attached to a married man and can't seem to break it off. That and the peanut can that Viktor carries around with him make up the poignant parts of the story.
The performances are wonderful. Hanks is a true Everyman as Viktor and really gives one the feel for what it's like to be alone in a strange place and not know much of the language. In one sad moment, he watches the TV monitors and cries as he realizes his country is in trouble. Viktor is a smart man as well as being a grounded and basic one. As with all his other roles, Hanks sails through the part, making it look both believable and easy. Zeta-Jones is a stunning and vivacious Amelia who sees Viktor's true worth even as she is pulled in another direction by a dead end relationship. Stanley Tucci, an airport administrator to whom Viktor has become an embarrassment, does an excellent job portraying a rules-only mindset and the disconnect between his job and the people he's supposed to serve. In one of the most powerful scenes, he refuses to let a man into the country with medicine for his dying father because the correct forms weren't filled out in the man's country of origin. All of the supporting characters who learn the meaning of true friendship from Viktor - Cruz, Gupta, et al. are fantastic.
"The Terminal" is a real feel-good movie, beautifully directed and acted, touching and engrossing. Highly recommended for the smile it will leave on your face.