The Terminal (2004)

An Eastern European tourist unexpectedly finds himself stranded in JFK airport, and must take up temporary residence there.

Director:

Steven Spielberg

Writers:

Andrew Niccol (story), Sacha Gervasi (story)

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride

7 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Viktor Navorski
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Amelia Warren
Stanley Tucci	...	Frank Dixon
Chi McBride	...	Mulroy
Diego Luna	...	Enrique Cruz
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Thurman
Kumar Pallana	...	Gupta Rajan
Zoe Saldana	...	Dolores Torres (as Zoë Saldana)
Eddie Jones	...	Salchak
Jude Ciccolella	...	Karl Iverson
Corey Reynolds	...	Waylin
Guillermo Díaz	...	Bobby Alima (as Guillermo Diaz)
Rini Bell	...	Nadia
Stephen Mendel	...	First Class Steward
Valeriy Nikolaev	...	Milodragovich (as Valera Nikolaev)

Storyline

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 Due to collapse of his government, his papers are no longer valid in the airport, and hence he is forced to stay in the airport until the war cools down.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.

---

Plot Keywords:

airport | flight attendant | man without a country | fish out of water | construction site | 

---

Taglines:

Life is waiting.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for brief language and drug references

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the scene where Viktor and other people sing the Krakozhian national anthem, they sing the anthem of Albania in "gibberish" words.

---

Goofs

In the early part of the film, Viktor is often seen with both pieces of baggage: his carry on shoulder bag, and large suitcase. Just as often, he is seen without the suitcase, but there has been never been an establishment of where he would store it. The same situation applies to his overcoat.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
PA announcer: United Airlines announcing the arrival of Flight 9435 from Beijing. Customer service representative, please report to gate C42.

---

Crazy Credits

SPOILER: In the closing credits, the names of the production staff and prominent cast are the person's actual signature, rather than the standard block print used in the remainder of the credits. This follows with the secondary plot of Victor trying to get the last signature for the memory of his deceased father.

---

Connections

References Chinatown (1974)

---

Soundtracks

For All We Know
Written by J. Fred Coots (as Fred Coots) & Sam Lewis (as Samuel Lewis)

User Reviews

Waiting can be exciting… It can be also entertaining

The film begins with a cool look (green and blue), because Spielberg doesn't think of Immigration as a warm place to be for the few minutes it takes to clear a passenger and get him on his way… So all the cool tones are evident until Viktor starts to settle into his new home… He is going to be stuck in New York's JFK airport for an unspecified amount of time… From this moment we see Viktor stuck, trapped, unable to enter United States and that's the fun of this film…

Tom Hanks is really so calm, so likable, so emotional, so funny and so real in what he does… Here, he's a very dignified person who is extremely trusting and always full of positive hope… You couldn't insult him if you try… It's very hard to hurt his feelings… He finds the bright side of every angle problem he faces and finds a way for him to live with the situation… He has the virtue of patience, and the testament to hard work, perseverance, and humility… He loves people, and he experiences the culture in an odd way…

Hanks plays a Krakozhian capable gentleman whose name is Viktor Navorski who finds himself without a passport and a visa once both are taken from him by the powers-that-be at the terminal, because his visa no longer counts, since his country is no longer in existence, and his passport is no longer valid…

Catherine Zeta-Jones brings vulnerability and insecurity to her unhappy character… She plays the gorgeous flight attendant Amalia Warren, a very sensible woman who's always looking for love, trying to find the person that will be her prince… She really wears her emotions on her sleeve and is lonely… She wants some strong relationship in her life… Viktor and Amelia have oceans of things in common and it ends up playing itself out and that's a nice thing to play…

The story leaves a lot for reflection, and in some ways, Viktor's stillness allows him to be a mirror for the people working in the airport to meditate on their own lives…

"The Terminal" is a charming film… It looks beautifully and elegantly, but realistically

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English Bulgarian Spanish Russian Mandarin German French

Release Date:

18 June 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terminal

Filming Locations:

Times Square, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$19,053,199, 20 June 2004

Gross USA:

$77,872,883

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$219,100,084

Company Credits

Production Co:

DreamWorks, Amblin Entertainment, Parkes/MacDonald Image Nation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1