The Terminal (2004)
- Genres: Comedy, Drama, Romance
- Rating IMDb: 74
- Year: 2004
- Duration: 2:8
Summaries
An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.
Victor Navorski reaches JFK airport from a politically unstable country. Due to collapse of his government, his papers are no longer valid in the airport, and hence he is forced to stay in the airport until the war cools down. He makes the airport his home and develops a friendship with the people who work there until he can leave.
Victor Navorksi (played by Tom Hanks), a man from the Eastern European nation of Krakozhia, flies into JFK airport. At Customs he is forbidden entry to the USA - Krakozhia has been taken over in a coup and the US does not currently recognise the new regime, or nation. In addition, the borders of Krakozhia are now closed. This leaves Victor in limbo - he cannot enter the US or go back to Krakozhia. While waiting for the diplomatic situation to sort itself out he is forced to live in the International Transit section of JFK, living off his own resourcefulness. He also makes some new friends along the way.
Shot almost entirely on a two-and-a-half-story recreation of a full-size operating airport terminal, this romantic comedy from director Steven Spielberg revolves around an Eastern European man by the name of Viktor Navorski "Tom Hanks", whose plans of immigrating to New York were hastened by a violent coup in his home country. Unfortunately, Viktor finds himself on the wrong end of a nasty technicality while en route to America: His passport was issued from a country, which, during its upheaval, ceased to exist in an official capacity. Unauthorized to leave Kennedy Airport upon his arrival and unable to return home, Viktor finds himself exiled inside the terminal's international transit lounge. Though airport official Frank Dixon "Stanley Tucci" views Viktor as an annoying bureaucratic glitch, other airport employees including a beautiful flight attendant by the name of Amelia "Catherine Zeta-Jones" come to see him as a welcome, if unofficial, addition to their numbers. As the days stretch on into months, the terminal transforms from an intimidating atmosphere of forced assimilation into a country within itself, complete with culture, ambition, status, complex diversity, and the need for love.
Viktor Navorski, a man from an Eastern European country arrives in New York. However after he left his country war broke out. Suddenly Navorski is a man without a country - or one that the U.S. cannot recognize, thus he is denied entrance to the U.S. However, he also can't be deported so he is told by the Security Manager that he has to remain in the airport until his status can be fixed. And also Navorski doesn't speak English very well, so he cannot talk to or understand anyone. But he somehow adapts and sets up residence in the airport, which makes the man who placed him there unhappy, as it seems he is in line for a promotion but Navroski's presence might complicate that. So he tries to get Navorski to leave but Navorski remains where he is. Navorski makes friends with some of the people who work in the airport and is attracted to a flight attendant he runs into whenever she comes in.
An Eastern European visitor becomes a resident of a New York airport terminal when a war breaks out and erases his country from the map, voiding his passport. He makes friends with the airport staff and falls in love with a flight attendant.
Former Krakozhian Viktor Navorski is almost in New York City for the first time in his life. "Former" and "almost"?: while Viktor is flying to JFK Airport, Krakozhia has been overthrown as a country with no nation recognizing the new regime, therefore all government papers such as passports, visas and currency issued by Krakozhia are also not recognized internationally. With only these papers in hand when Viktor arrives at JFK, he is not allowed entry into the United States. All air service in and out of Krakozhia has been suspended and thus Viktor cannot even be sent back until Krakozhia's situation is resolved. Frank Dixon, Director of Customs and Border Protection at JFK, allows Viktor to stay in the international lounge until the problem is resolved. Dixon gives Viktor enough meal vouchers to last for a day or two, with Dixon expecting Viktor to secretly escape the lounge into the outside world. Viktor, however, wants to be as proper as possible and decides to stay in the lounge. Viktor poses a problem for Dixon, as Viktor may be the black mark in his promotion to head of the department. Their relationship becomes an antagonistic one, where Dixon will now do whatever he can to prevent Viktor from ever entering the country even if he ever did learn the heartbreaking reason for Viktor's visit. As Viktor stays in the lounge, he only has limited resources on which to live and a limited understanding of the English language. Viktor's encounters with lounge employees is also initially antagonistic, but they all learn to live in harmony and friendship as Viktor's stay increases. The one person Viktor would like to meet and know is United Airlines flight attendant Amelia Warren, who is in transit through JFK every few weeks and who seems to be dealing with her own personal demons.
