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01/24/2005: "The Terminal"

In the movie The Terminal Tom Hanks plays an international traveler Viktor Navorski that gets stranded in John F. Kennedy International airport in New York City because while he was in flight, his home country experienced a coup and the government had fallen. Travel documents we no longer valid, so Viktor could not get to his dream destination of New York City. So, Viktor is stuck in the Terminal.

Viktor has experiences with a ladder-climbing bureaucrat that help to paint a clearer picture of who Viktor is and help to move the movie along.

Of course along the way, Viktor meets all kinds of people in the airport because it basically becomes a little city to him. He ends up living there several months. There are a few bits of humor along the way but this is certainly not an uproarious comedy. I found myself wishing there was more decent humor.

Of course there has to be the romantic interest and Catherine Zeta-Jones fits the bill nicely as Amelia if all you care about is looks, but along the way you find out that she is involved with a married man and she knows it is not good and wonderful to be involved like this but she cant seem to pull herself away because the “sex is so fantastic”. This really starts to show the “misguided ness” of some of the values of this movie.

We go on to see some of the underworld of the airport society and some of the corruption of that world. Yes I would agree that this is a pretty tame view of that world but it still a valueless view of this world.

The highlight of this movie is when Viktor stands up to the corrupt bureaucrat and in so doing becomes a bit of a cult figure among the airport workers. I must admit that I was warmed by this action also and I hoped that I could be brave in a similar situation.

I was a bit dismayed by the revelation of the purpose of Viktor’s trip to Big Apple in the first place. Viktor’s father was a huge jazz fan and he was collecting signatures of jazz greats. Viktor’s father had died without the final signature so Viktor was going to get that for him. I understand the concept of honoring ones father, but to honor him in such a meaningless way seems totally crazy to me.

This crazy way honoring ones father were getting the autograph became the purpose in life, made me think of another Tom Hanks movie “Castaway”. That movie for me painted a picture of complete hopelessness and despair and a view that life has no purpose at all.

These underlying themes make it a bit difficult for me to watch Tom Hanks movies.

Have a great day!
Wayne Moran

Replies: 1 Comment

Those two movies are all about hope, and utilize a love is pure and beyond reproach. Think about the love in both of those movies. You are completely wrong.

Tom hanks said @ 01/25/2005 06:32 PM CST

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