Review 606: The Terminal

The Terminal is an honest, hopeful, lightly romantic and touching comedy drama film 

After arriving at New York's JFK airport Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) gets unwittingly caught in beauracrtic glitches that make it impossible for him to return to his home country of Krakozhia or enter the U.S. Now, caught up in the richly complex and amusing world inside the airport, Viktor makes friends, gets a job, finds romance and ultimately discovers America itself.

Steven Spielberg’s direction is sensitive and  the score by John Williams is beautifully upbeat, the production design is spectacular (an entire Airport terminal was created for this movie was created and sight to behold, becoming almost as much of a character as Navorski or any of the people he encounters are with out-of-order toilets, signs that announce flights, Customs as well as little shops), the costumes are terrific, the cinematography is fantastic and immerses us into the vastness of the setting and the effect of the closing scene has a wonderful sense of poignancy to it.

Tom Hanks

Catherine Zeta-Jones

Stanley Tucci