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The Main Characters
--Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) hails from Krakozhia and on a plane trip to New York, his country was overthrown and now is passport and visa won’t be accepted and he’s stuck there, living in the airport.
--Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is a stewardess that is having an affair with a married man. She meets Navorski and they develop a nice relationship where Amelia can tell Victor everything.
--Frank Dixon (Stanley Tucci) is the head of the airport. He can’t let Viktor go into New York City due to the passport and visa problems, but he can’t leave the airport. He decides to let him stay in the airport until something is figured out.
The Setting
John F. Kennedy Airport in New York.
The Plot
Viktor Navorski hails from Krakozhia. He is on a flight to New York City when his country falls into turmoil. The government is overthrown while he’s on the flight and not recognized by the US for passport and visa purposes for the time being. Viktor lands in the the US and doesn’t understand at first that he can’t leave the airport. The head of the airport, Frank Dixon, tells him he can’t leave the airport, since his passports isn’t valid. He can’t go to New York and he can’t fly back so he’s stuck in the airport until things can be straightened out. So Viktor is stuck in a state of airport purgatory. Dixon would like to just be rid of Viktor, like arresting him or something, but he can’t until Viktor breaks the law (like leaving through the front door). Viktor doesn’t do that. What he does do is he befriends many of the people who work at the airports, and even sets up one of the food servers and an airport security staff. Viktor even finds a bit of romance with the beautiful Amelia Warren, who is having an affair with a married man, and she can’t seem break it off. She can confide in Viktor and she does. We soon learn that Viktor’s true motive to coming to America is a promise made to his father, but I won’t say what that promise was or what happened so I don’t ruin the movie for any who wants to see it.
Movie Review
I saw this on a recommendation from a friend and I’m really glad I did. It’s a great romantic-comedy and I was entertained for the whole 2 hours. Tom Hanks does great as a foreign man without a home and he conveys the mood of Viktor perfectly. This is probably the best movie he’s been in since Forrest Gump (in my opinion). Many people have complained that Spielburg would tackle a movie like this, but really there’s nothing wrong with it. They complain about making the character of Frank Dixon looking like an idiot, but this is a comedy movie, too. It’s not serious and although it’s loosely based on a real life person, it’s not the exact story. Just the theme of being caught in an airport is swiped. Everything else is just made-up, make-believe, there for us to enjoy. It’s really a great movie and it’s a truly excellent performance by Hanks. Catherine Zeta-Jones was okay in the role, but I don’t think she added anything different to the role that any other actress could have done. The supporting cast is great and the interaction between Hanks and many of the supporting players makes the movie move along a lot easier and give the film depth. It’s a great release from the usual “blockbuster” released in the summer and it actually banked a pretty decent amount. It was funny, romantic and overall great.
Overal Rating
***1/2
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