The Terminal Review
by Homer Yen (homer_yen AT yahoo DOT com)June 28th, 2004
"The Terminal" – First Class Enjoyment
It's hard not to enjoy a sweet film like "The Terminal". It is the kind of feel-good comedy that causes you to hold your breath in anticipation as wistful and likeable underdogs struggle to emerge. You watch an offering like this, and you come away with a sublime feeling of hope.
Much of the credit goes to the always-bankable, boyish Tom Hanks. He is truly an actor's actor who effectively inhabits his characters in much the same way a chameleon adapts to its environment. Here, as the lost puppy Viktor Navorski (Hanks), we immediately empathize with him as the premise of the film is revealed. He is an international traveler who has arrived in a New York airport just as his Slavic nation's government falls. Without a diplomatically recognized country, his passport and visa are no longer valid. He can't return home; he's not allowed on American soil. He has no money, and his English skills are rudimentary at best. For the time being, he is only allowed to wander around the international concourse.
Hanks's special gift seems to be roles where he winds up alone and is left to figure things out. We appreciated him as a boy in a man's body in "Big" and enjoyed his ability to develop a relationship with Wilson the volleyball in "Cast Away." In this film, the setup is familiar. However, we never grow tired of it.
Navorski's innocence strangely effects those around him. He is viewed with much suspicion at first. But his profound simplicity begins to win the hearts of others. That includes much of the airport security personnel who marvels at Viktor's resourcefulness as he figures out that returning baggage carts will give him enough change to buy a small hamburger. That includes an attractive flight attendant (Catherine Zeta-Jones) with whom she feels she can open her heart. That includes much of the retail shop employees who hear that Navorski stood up to the powers-that-be to enable a Russian passenger help his dying father. That also includes a trio of airport employees who eventually invite him to sit and play poker. They don't play for money. Rather, they play for unclaimed items from the lost and found. It's all very cute.
Most of the tension stems from his brushes with Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), the anal but fair customs official. He doesn’t want to arrest Navorski unfairly. He leaves the front doors unguarded, but Navorski opts to stay in the terminal. He asks Navorski if he is afraid of the consequences of the coup hoping to trigger a political asylum case. "No," says our likeable everyman. "But I am afraid of ghosts."
There is a rare feeling of authenticity that permeates the film. Every character feels real and has something to offer, which makes the airport feel more like a community and less like a daunting industrial structure. Also, it is interesting to note that the entire airport set was constructed from the ground up. From the hundreds of passengers to the Discovery Store merchandise to the Burger King imprinted napkins, you'll marvel at the care and precision that went into the making of this film. It may seem that Viktor Navorski may be going nowhere. But it's always comforting to see that this film is always going somewhere. And that trip is first class.
Grade: A-
S: 1 out of 3
L: 0 out of 3
V: 1 out of 3
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