The Terminal * * * (2004)

Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Tom Hanks, Stanley Tucci, Catherine Zeta-Jones

The Terminal is cute without being too cute and light without being too light. It also doesn't play for easy laughs or overdone sentimentality. It strikes just the right balance which means it doesn't cross over into greatness. But it's entertaining and gets the job done, kind of like Spielberg's last film, Catch Me If You Can.

The story is as follows: A man named Viktor Navorski (Hanks) lands in a New York Airport to find that his visa and passport are no longer valid. Why? Because his homeland, an Eastern European country named Krakozia is involved in a civil war and has invalidated all international travel to and from the country. But he is not seeking political asylum or applying for a green card, so according to the airport director, Frank Dixon (Tucci), the only place he can legally stay is within the airport terminal. He is literally a man without a country, but he learns that fast despite his very limited English. As he stays in the terminal, his English improves and he learns to live off the land, so to speak. In this case, he lives off of the kindness of the airport staff, who are kind to him in return for favors. (No, not those kind).

But Dixon is in a pickle. He knows Navorski is living in the terminal, but can't legally do anything about it. He is rigid about the rules, because being so will help in his possible promotion. Tucci is terrific playing a man who displays career-mindedness over compassion, at least on the outside. He tries a ruse to allow Navorski to leave the terminal legally, but Navorski doesn't play along. So he's stuck with him, even with an inspection by the FAA coming up which will cement his promotion.

I especially enjoyed Hanks because he doesn't reach for effect. Most actors would overdo the inability to speak English or panic at the situation, but Hanks doesn't mind being patient with his character and playing him as if he is learning things as soon as we do. He is smart and resourceful. Such a situation would require many to be that way. He is also patient beyond words, mostly because of a plot point that surfaces later on.

The Terminal is well made for a film with such light material. It could've stepped wrong in so many ways. I could picture Adam Sandler starring in it and yelling at everyone in a think foreign accent or Jim Carrey starring and flailing his arms about in exaggerated desperation. But Hanks uses his endless charm and likability. I think back to Cast Away, which was a movie in which an actor other than Tom Hanks would've sunk the film. The same thing applies here.