The Terminal (2004)
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An Eastern European man becomes stranded in a New York airport after a military coup in his home country leaves his passport invalid.
The story
Viktor Navorski, a traveler from the fictional country of Krakozhia, arrives at New York City's John F. Kennedy International Airport. While in the air, a coup d'état occurs in his homeland, and the United States refuses to recognize the new government. This leaves Viktor's passport invalid, making it impossible for him to enter the U.S. or return home. He is forced to remain in the airport's transit lounge. While the airport's Acting Field Commissioner, Frank Dixon, tries to make Viktor someone else's problem, Viktor settles into a gate under renovation, forming bonds with various airport employees and finding a way to make life in the terminal bearable.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Viktor Navorski is stranded at JFK International Airport because a coup in his home country, Krakozhia, renders his passport invalid. While the airport's Field Commissioner, Frank Dixon, tries to force him out, Viktor builds a life in a gate under renovation. He befriends a janitor named Gupta, a baggage handler named Joe, and a food service driver named Enrique, who helps him obtain meals. Viktor also begins a relationship with a flight attendant named Amelia. During a tense situation involving a Russian man's medicine, Viktor helps the man bypass Dixon's bureaucracy, earning him a reputation among staff. He eventually learns that the war in Krakozhia has ended and obtains a one-day emergency visa. However, Dixon threatens to prosecute his friends if Viktor doesn't leave. After a tense standoff where Gupta delays a plane to protect the group, Viktor is finally allowed to leave. He travels to a nearby hotel to collect a final jazz autograph from Benny Golson before returning to the airport to finally go home.
- First release year
- 2004
- Runtime (minutes)
- 128
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Steven Spielberg
- Writers
- Sacha Gervasi · screenplay; Jeff Nathanson · screenplay; Andrew Niccol · story; Sacha Gervasi · story
- Cast and characters
- Tom Hanks · Viktor Navorski; Catherine Zeta-Jones · Amelia Warren; Stanley Tucci · Frank Dixon; Chi McBride · Joe Mulroy; Diego Luna · Enrique Cruz; Zoe Saldaña · Dolores Torres
- Genres
- comedy-drama; romance
- Themes
- humanity; bureaucracy; friendship
- Tone and mood
- heartwarming; humorous
- Premise and plot tags
- stranded; fictional country; airport
- Source material / true-story basis
- The true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 61% · scale: percentage · review count: 206; Metacritic · score: 55 · scale: 100 · review count: 41; CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The set was built in a massive hangar at the LA/Palmdale Regional Airport.; Tom Hanks based his character on his father-in-law, a Bulgarian immigrant.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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