The Terminal
Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Tom Hanks as a man from a fictional European country who can hardly speak any English? Indeed, yes. After his country is overrun by a military coup while he is mid-flight, he becomes marooned at JFK international airport without a valid passport, and is hence unable to enter America. That Hanks makes this portrayal of this simple man believable indicates how good an actor he is, and how likeable a personality.
Instead of a serious drama, we have a mixture of light comedy and Spielbergian sentimentality of neither the best nor worst kind. It’s enjoyable and inoffensive. Viktor (Hanks) makes friends with many people, including a cleaner and a cook, as we follow his episodic adventures in his months-long stay at the terminal (an absolutely incredible set, by the way), with airport-chief Stanley Tucci standing in his way of entry to New York. Regrettably, the least successful subplot is the love story between Viktor and Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones), an air hostess having an unhappy affair with a married man. Zeta-Jones simply doesn’t convince, although the scene where they kiss in front of the fountain is such a beautifully lit piece of old-school romance that you almost forget their liaison doesn’t make a lot of sense.
While not as explicitly as The Majestic a few years back, the influence of Frank Capra is evident here — it’s Hanks’ little man vs. corporate America, with Tucci as the villainous figurehead. The movie is much more intelligent that most people have given credit, with many sly stabs at consumerist and capitalistic America. “What can I do here?” Viktor asks when he arrives at the airport, which is filled with shops and advertising of all descriptions: “The only thing you can do — shop.” The usual Spielberg cohorts are also present, including John Williams who provides a bouncy score and the brilliant Janusz Kaminski who, like he did in Minority Report, goes to town with the backlighting.
Not many people have a line up of films as impressive as Spielberg, and in that company The Terminal comes up short. It’s not as excessive a blunder as 1941 or Hook, which floundered under excessive budgets; it’s a smaller film with a simple agenda. But the Spielberg technical brilliance is here as always, and that, along with Hanks’ endearing performance, makes The Terminal a moderate success.
*** (out of four)
Josh Blackman
