The Terminal - review

When Victor Navorski (Tom Hanks) lands at JFK airport in New York he is informed that during his flight, his home country of Krakozhia has gone to war meaning that his passport and visa are no longer recognised by the United States of America.

Informed that he can’t enter New York without being arrested or return home, Victor is forced to stay in the Airport under the watchful eye of Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci), the airport manager.

While Victor struggles to come to terms with the destruction of his country, he begins to settle in at the terminal and spends his days helping out by collecting trolleys in order to get money for food and making friends with the staff at the airport.

During his stay at the airport, Victor also becomes close to Amelia (Catherine Zeta Jones), an air hostess who frequently travels through the airport to meet her lover and arranges to meet up with her every time she travels.

With Victor now becoming used to his situation and the staff warming to him, Frank becomes bored with his antics and determined to get a promotion tries to persuade him to leave the airport which will result in his arrest. But with the support of friends Victor is determined to wait it out until the war is Krakozhia finally comes to an end and the doors to New York are opened to him.

I wasn’t completely sold on this movie, but determined to give any movie a try, I stuck with it and ended up really enjoying it. I had no idea how it would end and have to admit that I became close to tears when it did.

The Terminal is a sweet tale of how when faced with adversity, a little hard work and help from friends can make all the difference.