The Terminal [DVD] (2004)

Fascinating storyline. Tom Hanks, as usual, engages with his character and makes it all believable. Does he get the girl? Watch and see...

Never heard oif this film. Noticed Tom Hanks was staring, so watched and am so glad that I did. A non discript plot line, but the acting the direction. the filming made this film magical. This IS a SUPERB movie and I would urge anyone to watch it. Should have won more awards. BRILLIANT

Good film

The premise for the plot of this film is, frankly, slightly daft, but let it slide and enjoy it. Stop reading now if you don't want any spoilers, but I don't think I'll ruin it for anyone.The story is all about Hanks' character being marooned in a US airport, unable to leave either by the door or on another plane because while he was in transit there, his little unheard-of country suffered a coup and is now in a state of civil war, and all relations with the US, including all visa agreements etc. have been suspended. So he is stuck in limbo while his passport is effectively useless.So we are treated to a mostly slightly amusing tale of how he manages to find a way to survive in the airport terminal. But the film takes on an entirely new angle when we find out, quite late on really, why he travelled to the US in the first place, and why he is prepared to continue to put up with the hardship of living in this state of suspended existence for many months - it is all due to a promise he made to his father before he died. I found this scene where he finally reveals this really surprisingly moving, and it affects me in much the same way that other films that cover the father-son relationship do, such as Field Of Dreams, and another I have just seen, About Time. The reason he has travelled is so trivial, and yet at the same time it is so powerful because no matter the triviality of it, he made a promise to his father, and he is keeping it. "Maybe I think he do it for me".A wonderful heart-warming uplifting film I can watch over and over.

During a stop over at JFK Airport, Viktor Navorski finds that his homeland of Krakozhia has erupted into chaos and a military coup has taken place. This puts him bureaucratic purgatory because his passport is no longer valid, meaning he can't get home until Krakozhia's new government is officially ratified. Forced to spend his immediate future solely in the confines of the airport, Viktor shows tremendous spirit to survive in his totally alien surroundings.The Terminal is loosely based on the case of an Iranian gentleman who was trapped in a French airport for almost ten years. Given the complete Hollywood treatment, The Terminal just manages to keep on the good side of good by fusing its fabled heart with a triumph of the will story line. Viktor {Tom Hanks perfectly cast} must use all his wits just to survive in this unique situation, be it a resourceful way of getting cash, a stoic drive to learn the English language from a simple travel guide, or making friends with an oddball assortment of airport personal, Viktor engages us as he goes about his merry way. The scenarios that are thrown up of course make for many a laugh, more so given that the said airport personal, played by Barry Shabaka Henley, Kumar Pallana and Diego Luna, are proper residents of America, but are actually equally as alien to the folk on the street as Viktor is!In amongst the frivolity {which is great and very rewarding}, there's a question of how people treat people who are not English speaking? Perhaps director Stephen Spielberg wanted to make a point here about folk presuming that those alien to the language one speaks are cretins? Annoyances getting in the way of normality? Maybe, perhaps. It's certainly the impression I got from watching it on my latest revisit. Sadly the fun and serious angle is let down by the good old romantic strand that is wedged into a film that didn't need it. For sure Catherine Zeta Jones is beautiful, but her character is weak and adds nothing to the film's basic structure. In fact it feels out of place, in the wrong airport perhaps? On the major plus side we have a wonderful performance from Stanley Tucci as airport commandant Frank Dixon, Dixon is a complete jobs worth, a stickler for the rules and views Navorski as a threat to the smooth running of his airport. If we discount the pitch perfect show from Hanks? Then Tucci most definitely takes the acting honours on show.It's a very enjoyable film that has a couple of underlying veins of seriousness, it's just a shame about the tagged on romance forcing it out into pointless treacle territory. 7/10