The Terminal

Tom Hanks is a phenomenal actor. He has starred in man movies, but one of the most memorable movies in my opinion is The Terminal.

The terminal is a movie about an eastern immigrant, Victor Novarski, who finds himself stranded at the JFK airport. He was not permitted access onto American soil because on his flight over, his government collapsed.

Because of the war that broke out in Viktor’s country’s country, his papers were not valid. The Department of Homeland Security did not allow him access out of the airport. There was also no way for him to go “home” either.

He ended up having to make the JFK airport his hope throughout the duration of the war. Viktor Novarski also spoke little to no English. Upon his arrival he was “lost in translation”. 

The terminal became Victor’s home. At the very beginning, he was left in despair, trying to figure out what to do with his current situation. He had nowhere to go, no contacts, and no way to survive.

On one of his nights, he saw that there was ongoing construction, so he spent his night finishing up the construction. By the time the morning came, the workers walked in to find that Victor had completed their job. It was then, that they offered Victor work, and he was able to make money to survive in the terminal.

Victor also managed to teach himself English. He was able to communicate with others comfortably. Among the people he would talk to frequently, was a flight attendant.

Throughout his stay, Victor had a can with him at all times. Everyone was curious to know the contents of the can. Eventually he was harassed by endless questions before finally caving and letting the others know the contents of the can.

His response was “my father”. Victor’s father had visited every jazz player of a certain group except for one. He died before he got the opportunity to. So Victor wanted to complete the list for his father. Eventually he was able to.

The Terminal is one of my favorite movies. It shows struggles and difficulties. But more importantly, it shows how someone was able to overcome what seems like the worst possible situation that could happen to someone. 

Victor is a role model, to remain calm and make the most of out any situation. His constant positivity remained high. Despite his lows, he managed to bounce back to his high-spirited self. 

He also taught me that that patience really is a virtue. When it felt like the entire world was against him, he continued to insist on his dream / mission. He was going to complete his father’s dream, and meet the final jazz performer. 

I think that The Terminal is one of Tom Hanks’ best works, and that it should be a movie that everyone should watch at least once in their lifetime. Not only does it have endless lessons that someone could learn, it is so full of emotion. 

As a member of the audience, I felt attached to Tom Hanks’ character, Victor. I was able to emotionally connect with everything he was feeling; his fear, his sadness, his confusion, when he fell in love, and the suspense of his walk to the airport doors. The relief of when he finally made it out of the airport, and the feeling of success and ultimate satisfaction when he followed through with his father’s wishes were beyond touching.

It definitely is a movie that everyone should watch. Steven Spielberg outdid himself by directing this movie, and Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Stanley Tucci, and the rest of the cast were beyond successful in embodying the characters.