A Hologram for the King (2016)

A failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company's product to a wealthy monarch.

Director:

Tom Tykwer

Writers:

Dave Eggers (novel), Tom Tykwer (screenplay)

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Omar Elba, Sarita Choudhury

2 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Hanks	...	Alan
Omar Elba	...	Yousef (as Alexander Black)
Sarita Choudhury	...	Zahra
Sidse Babett Knudsen	...	Hanne
Tracey Fairaway	...	Kit
Jane Perry	...	Ruby
Tom Skerritt	...	Ron
Michael Baral	...	Young Ron
Lewis Rainer	...	Young Alan
Alexander Molkenthin	...	Kid Alan
Xara Eich	...	Young Kit
David Menkin	...	Brad
Christy Meyer	...	Cayley
Megan Maczko	...	Rachel
Ben Whishaw	...	Dave

Storyline

A failed American sales rep looks to recoup his losses by traveling to Saudi Arabia and selling his company's product to a wealthy monarch.

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Plot Keywords:

backhoe | black tent | male in a shower | woman in a bikini | skin diving | 

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Taglines:

How far will you go to find yourself?

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity, language and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Site

Country:

UK France Germany Mexico USA

Language:

English Arabic

Release Date:

28 April 2016 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Esperando al rey

Filming Locations:

Ouarzazate, Morocco

Box Office

Budget:

$30,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,138,605, 24 April 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$4,198,126, 26 June 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

X-Filme Creative Pool, 22h22, Fábrica de Cine

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color Black and White (some shots)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Yousef tells Alan that the only place he has visited in the United States is Alabama. Alan, surprised, asks him, "Why Alabama?" Yousef responds, "You mean because I was the only Arab for 1,000 miles? I had a scholarship for one year in Birmingham." Birmingham, Alabama, actually has one of the oldest and most established Arab American and Middle Eastern communities in the Deep South. For example, the Lebanese-American community in Birmingham was established in the late 1800s. In 1910, St. Elias Maronite Catholic Church (the Maronites being a division of Catholicism with roots in the countries that are now Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and Israel) was established; as of April 2018, their Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival is one of the longest-running food festivals in Birmingham.

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Goofs

The first time Tom Hanks wakes up late in his hotel in KSA, there's a Muslim prayer call (Adhan) heard in the background. However, his bedside alarm clock shows it's after 9:00 am, and no Muslim prayers occur in that time.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alan: [mimicking The Talking Heads in his music video TV commercial] You may find yourself living in your garden shack. And you may find yourself not at home in your home. And you may find yourself looking for your large automobile. And you may find yourself without a beautiful house. Without a beautiful wife. And you may ask yourself "Well, how did I get here?"
Alan: [riding a roller coaster for the chorus] Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was. Same as it ever was.

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Connections

Referenced in Honest Trailers: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)

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Soundtracks

You're The Inspiration
Performed by Chicago
(P) 1984 Warner Bros. Records Inc.
Courtesy of Warner Music Group Germany Holding Gmbh. A Warner Music Group Company
Words and Music by Peter Cetera, David Foster
(C) by Universal Music - MGB Songs / PeerMusic III Ltd.
Courtesy of Musik-Edition Discoton Gmbh c/o Universal Music Publishing Group (Germany) and PeerMusic (Germany) Gmbh

User Reviews

Meh

I read a review of this film that said something like "Tom Hanks at his best...", and all I thought was, "Did we see the same film?". Because after watching this, my first thought was, "Why did Tom Hanks want to do this? Anyone could have played that role. It's not a star vehicle and it's just not all that interesting."

I understand that this film was adapted from a novel. Now that I've seen this, I imagine the book must have been pretty interesting, but this just doesn't work for me as a film. It actually reminded me of the TV movies that were popular on network TV in the 70s and 80s. As a feature, I found it... slow. Meandering. Ultimately pointless.