The Terminal is a movie I don’t have that much to say about. It’s above average fare – as expected with this cast and director everyone does a good job with what they have. Tom Hanks is so accomplished he can play this part in his sleep, and Spielberg has tackled much tougher projects. I won’t be offering a true FF of it, as there’s really no need to go slicing and dicing with gusto. Rather I’m going to look at two elements of the film that didn’t ring true.

Element the first: I can’t put my finger on it, but for some reason the modern setting just doesn’t feel right for this story. Maybe it’s because I can’t believe a post 9/11 American airport would just let a displaced tourist hang around like that. And unfortunately my response to this is equally vague. It would be better set in the 70s, but I don’t know why. It’s just a feeling that I have.

Element the second: The Terminal tries too hard for a villain, when there really is no need for one. Stanley Tucci is a great actor, and I enjoy watching him in whatever he’s in, but he isn’t given much to work with here. Tucci’s Frank Dixon is Iago-like in his dislike of Viktor. There’s some anal-retentiveness about running a tight ship, but this merely leaves Frank one-dimensional. By the end Victor will remain unchanged; he didn’t need emotional help, just a way out of his predicament. But he should have touched those around him. I do like how the relationship between Viktor and Amelia fails to come to fruition. That had a real truth to it, in that sometimes we try to help people, but sometimes they can’t help themselves. For the movie to have a heart, and to nicely juxtapose the failed Viktor/Amelia relationship, then Frank needs to complete an emotional journey thanks to Viktor.

And so bureaucracy will replace Frank as the bad guy. Let’s change Frank a bit. Viktor is someone who has fallen between the cracks of bureaucracy, and Frank is the face of that bureaucracy. Frank initially wants to brush Viktor off, but finds that bureaucracy ties his hands. Frank can’t let Viktor in, but he can’t just kick him out either. We’ll set up some communication between Frank and the bureaucracy. There’ll be phone calls and telexes (remember them) between him and the bureaucracy as he tries to solve the problem. But no answer is forthcoming, and Frank begrudgingly accepts the situation for the time being.

But Frank’s evaluation as a worker in the bureaucracy approaches, and certainly Viktor will be a blot on the report. This is where Frank tries to show that everything is actually running ok because now he’s become a stickler for the rules. But after this there is still no assistance from those above. Gradually Frank realizes that he is as much a victim of bureaucracy as Viktor is. There will be no help coming, for bureaucracy is as ignorant of its failures as much as it is supposedly all-powerful. Faced with the same problem from opposite ends Viktor and Frank form a bond when Viktor is able to help Frank out of problem (the distraught “drug trafficker”) with an unorthodox solution. The two can talk about life, the universe and relationships. Their bond is eventually broken at the films conclusion when out of the blue a seemingly arbitrary decision is made by bureaucracy to send Viktor home. Frank uses what power he does have to bump Viktor’s flight to the next day so that Viktor can have one illegal night in town. Thus Frank’s emotional journey from lackey of bureaucracy to emotionally rounded person (or abuser of public power for oneself) is complete. Hurrah!

Like I said The Terminal is quite a watch-able film. Probably the stellar cast and crew do it a disservice by giving an impression that it is more than it is. If you’ve got nothing in the DVD, then throw it on.

This entry was posted on Monday, February 6th, 2006 at 11:50 am and is filed under Drama, Forensic Analysis, T, winston. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.