Waiting for Something to Happen
Hanks Takes Off in Airport Film

The best in Tom Hanks comes out when he's being himself. Whether doing comedy or drama, there is an essence of goodness, of genuine honesty, that I haven't seen in films since the likes of Jimmy Stewart and Gregory Peck graced the silver screen. Hanks seems to always play that everyman who's a little better than everyone else, but too humble to know it.

In the new film The Terminal, directed by Steven Spielberg, Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a visitor to the United States from the fictitious Eastern European country of Krakozhia. When Viktor arrives in America he discovers, slowly and without a translator, that his country's leaders have been overthrown and Krakozhia is no longer a recognized state. Viktor has no home to return to, because his visa is invalid. He also cannot enter the United States. So he has nothing to do but wait. And he must wait in the airport terminal.

Anyone who has ever missed a flight or had a flight delayed knows that an airport is a place of limbo, catching people between their places of origin and their destinations. But in contrast to some idea of purgatory, it is also alive with thousands of people, each one unique and telling his or her own story. So, as Viktor waits, he begins to discover America.

The antagonist of the picture is the political bureaucracy that has invisibly tied Viktor to the airport. The bureaucracy is embodied in Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), an airport official who is bucking for a promotion. Dixon is unwilling to bend the rules to assist Viktor, yet he is strangely surprised when several days later he discovers that Viktor is still in the airport. Unlike most, Viktor has not slipped past security and out into the streets of New York. He has stayed in the airport, optimistic that one day he will be granted access into the United States.

Along the way, Viktor begins to learn about his temporary home. He slowly teaches himself English, tries to secure a job, and meets scores of people. The story of The Terminal is only partially about Viktor. Certainly Hanks is the star of the film and the lynchpin to the entire plot. Surrounding him, however, is an entertaining and intriguing cast who slowly take on added dimensions. The crazy janitor (Kumar Pallana) who tells Viktor he must have an "appointment" if he wants to look through the trash, later becomes an intriguing character beyond his eccentricities. Likewise, the obvious love interest (Catherine Zeta-Jones) does not fall into that stereotypical role. In The Terminal the first impressions are usually wrong ones, just as Dixon notes when he catches people trying to sneak past customs.

It would be trite to say that The Terminal is a story of how each person's life is touched by Viktor, and it wouldn't be completely accurate either. The whole point of the film is that life is what happens to us, not only what we do to make life happen. As the tagline on the poster says, "Life is waiting." And if you don't understand the double meaning behind that phrase, you may not understand this film either.

The Terminal is a film that works slowly on a subtle level. It does not hammer the audience over the head with visual beauty or fancy camera work. Despite Spielberg being one of my favorite directors, I couldn't identify his signature touches in this work. This film is not classic Spielberg. Instead, he allows Hanks to become the centerpiece of the film, working the film around the actor rather than working the actor into the film. For any director, especially one as big as Spielberg, this is a compliment to Hanks.

For those looking for a break from the summer blockbusters, I highly recommend this wondeful film. Hanks is a delight to watch, and his endearing portrayal of Viktor is a memorable one.

MY RATING: 8 out of 10.

RATED: PG-13
RUN TIME: 128 min.

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