The Terminal

There are 2 kinds of movies -> one is the type by MNS which are clever and which make you say "wow" and put your hand to mouth in disbelief and marvel at the man's work.

The other is the accomplished director Steven Spielberg (SS) type where you go to see something you have heard or read about (even fiction like Jurassic Park by Crichton) - For example the Jews and the holocaust, the Normandy Landing or in this case the story of the real life refugee and then when you are watching, the movie warms the cockles of one's heart and if there's some such thing as gladdening the heart and wetting it (much like litmus paper which becomes beautiful upon wetting it with an acidic solution), then this is it!

The Terminal is a massive tribute to the abilities of Spielberg's movie making abilities. He has made a powerful movie about the plight of a man stuck in an airport due to the uncertain status of his country by the time he lands at JFK.

Airport terminals are vast, complex, irritating places. Most people are hassled looking or get there like that. If they aren't, then the airport will ensure that they do. For more on airport terminals, read the first few pages of "The Long Dark Teatime of the Soul" by Douglas Adams for some excellent imagery!

Tom Hanks revels as Viktor Navorski (based on real life character Merhan Nasseri at Charles De Gaulle Airport http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5241336/). ]

The almost silly humour of the Charlie Chaplin/Buster Keaton variety plays out albeit in a modern setting in the first 15 mins when Tom Hanks meets the anally retentive Airport Commissioner-to-be played by Stanley Tucci. Again the entertainer in SS surfaces as it is vital to grab your audience in the first 15 mins. Remember the opening sequence in Saving Private Ryan?!

I am betting on Tom Hanks for Best Actor, Stanley Tucci for Best Supporting Actor and one for ...Bryce for Best Actress (from previous blog), strong contenders for the next Oscars.

The Zeta Jones character is also quite real and touches one's heart especially for her interest in historical origins of croissants! And all along, I thought they were Danish having consumed so many of them. Its not everyday you meet someone with such a lifestyle but with such an approach to life.

The Indian & the black characters are stereotypical and may offend a few Indians, but then there are other Indian characters with no lines in the movie, reflective of the changing landscape of the USA. There are some engaging sequences where the Tom Hanks tirelessly parades to the counter where the stamping is done, to try and convey messages from an admirer to the woman who stamps his "Light Green" form with a Red Seal, while receiving the messages. This is great fun to watch.

There is also this amazing setpiece (picked this from my pal, Rishi) where there is an authentic Italian dinner at the Terminal. Absolute heartwarming stuff. Reminscent of the classic humour genre with none of the Roberto Benigni style trivialization (Yo Rishi Yo!).

The details of the inspection process etc, reminds one of the details that one gets to read in Arthur Hailey novels - esp, the stuff on loopholes!

And the ending is vintage Spielberg - absolute deftness. no pandering to public (That's all I'll reveal here).

As another friend put it, one of the characteristics of a great movie is that it points out things in an ordinary setting and subtle human behaviour in situations which you never paid attention to before. This is what I meant by the Spielberg genre of moviemaking

When I had walked into The Terminal, I had high expectations, it being an SS movie and all, the fact that I had seen "The Village", another fantastic movie only days before, notwithstanding.
It is undoubtedly one of the best movies I have seen. The only movie I know which is better than this is "No Man's Land" -> an absolutely stark and rivetting portrayal of life. But then, that's for another blog.