I just had to say that.
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jajceboy — 14 years ago(August 17, 2011 10:52 AM)
I watched it from Victors point of view, I ever understood it since I had a similar situation as Victors once.
It didn't make the move better unfortunately. The story had a lot of potential and could've worked as a satire over America, with the airport working as a America in miniature.
Instead the story really didn't go anywhere, and was neither funny nor anything else. And add to that a incredibly pointless romantic sub-plot that did nothing for the movie except to turn it into another bland romantic comedy the result is mediocre.
Spielberg's worst by far! A story that could've been better had he dared a more! -
DreTam2000 — 13 years ago(April 14, 2012 08:54 PM)
The story a satire over America, with the airport working as a America in miniature.
This is exactly what
The Terminal
is.
And boy, does it fly over most people's heads
The "jazz" was symbolic of America, for starters. This movie was not kind at all to American politics or governing forces, or the way America sees foreigners. Pay close attention, and view every piece of the movie subtextually, and you will get all the satire you need.
I'm not a control freak, I just like things my way -
ReservoirDerek — 14 years ago(September 25, 2011 07:59 PM)
I feel like a lot of this movie
is
a satire. I mean, with the made up country. The "Uncles Sam wipes his ass with Charmon two-ply" line also gives me a sense of,
Oh, Americans
.
With that said, satires can often be heart-warming and tragic. Perfect example?
Arrested Development
. Also, the heart that was put into this film. The music, the sets, the lighting, the performances, the dialog, the timing, the magic. It's all just perfect.
I feel you need to see the nostalgia within this sort of film. And if you can't just sit back and enjoy the surreal aspect, then I feel sorry for you.
Currently Filming: 'Road to Kingsville'
http://www.facebook.com/groups/RoadtoKingsville -
gerdd — 12 years ago(April 28, 2013 12:06 PM)
"become much better at English"
Right - only chance he (or the plot) had. Fat chance that even a single person at that airport would learn Krakovian all of a sudden
Hint: This is an integral part of the satire on the American Way of Life. Other languages don't play much of a role in it which also explains why he was bombarded with more English once it became clear he had a problem with it.
Maybe if he spoke French, Spanish or even German, but Krakovian?!!
Oh yes, there is a moral to this story, but it takes a bit of sensitivity to hear it. -
gerdd — 10 years ago(May 19, 2015 02:52 AM)
Ohhh - I just learned from Wikipedia that in the English-speaking world the country is actually called "Krakozhia" - as opposed to "Krakovien" or "Krakosien" in the German speaking patch.
In any event, I was not aware that in that - fictitional - country one speaks Bulgarian - and I am not sure if that wasn't only because Tom Hanks has some Bulgarian heritage and thus can probably make some credible Bulgarian-like noises.
But sometimes these things are a bit of a misconception anyway. For all I know the "Bulgarian" of Krakhozia may actually sound no closer to "real Bulgarian" than Swiss German (Schyzerdtsch) does to German - ignoring here that German is in itself varied enough to interest a legion of Henry Higginses. Or take the Spanisch of Latin America in comparison to the Castilian variety from Spain. Or let me quote the incomparable John Cleese who asked about the differences between the UK and the US mentioned this: "As opposed to you, we speak English." (You may prefer the "divided by a common language" crack, but I just learned that people can't agree on who said it first Shaw, Churchill, Wilde, or was it Mark Twain once again?) -
hairy_buddah — 12 years ago(June 27, 2013 10:26 PM)
His English language acquisition was carefully explained by the tour guide books. He had one in his language, and an identical book in English that he bought at an airport shop. This was prompted by his inability to read the screen crawl quickly enough on the news channels reporting on the revolution in his home country. One of the many clever nuances in this delightful movie.
-
bjewilson — 11 years ago(December 22, 2014 04:00 PM)
There's a message here to the anglophone Americans and British who don't (almost all) speak other languages: they don't usually need to; this induces an inner laziness; a boast that "we're useless at languages" which is a self-fulfilling declaration. What you need to learn a language - for quite adequate exchange purposes in far less than the many months our "hero" was in the USA -
are : intelligence; some 'learning' material like guides in 2 or more languages ; being in at the "deep end" with everyone around you speaking a common tongue, TV blaring out, newspapers to browse at will; time on your hands with few distractions other than survival. This is what young, entrepreneur-minded young people do when they emigrate, usually to English-speaking places - British and American migrants hardly ever seek to perfect the language of their destination country, why should they? That, is the question. Lazy, arrogant
that's one answer.
So Spielberg, an 'economic migrant' in his day, is supplying a subtle
message about escaping from the language-ignorant bubble; a mini autobiography
in a way And the next message? Human kindness, empathy and loyalty are universal - but you can't really convey them without the basic tenets of the
"other's" language.
My only complaint about the film is that the hero's English should have evolved more by the time he left the USA of the terminal, so as to get more out of the USA in his time outside it. He had everything going for him - linguistically!
For the rest I thoroughly enjoyed the terminal as comedy, of fun, pathos, conflict resolved and unresolved - and a Disney endingWhat more do you want? -
Blitzerg — 14 years ago(January 23, 2012 01:25 AM)
i generally like/love most Spielberg films and ive seen my share. but this movie god this movie.. i just didnt like it. so over the top and cheesy and not once was i convinced of Tom Hanks' character. he was just Tom Hanks doing an accent. 5/10. i enjoyed the 1st and 3rd Transformers movies more than this. the 2nd one is just unbearable to sit through..
"Long live the new flesh." -
reyaanshah — 14 years ago(March 25, 2012 10:55 PM)
Let's put it this way. If you do a lot of air travel, you will laugh like crazy. Others, not so much. I liked it because it was relatable.
The answer to your life -> http://bit.ly/fTyGEP -
bear022013-588-696101 — 13 years ago(November 25, 2012 04:29 PM)
I do not like the manner in which The White Eastern European Man is mistreated by several black employees of these ficticious airlines/airport officials.
Most American films..this is the theme,Why does this go on in film today? -
Camargue — 11 years ago(January 25, 2015 12:50 PM)
I do not like the manner in which The White Eastern European Man is mistreated by several black employees of these ficticious [fictitious] airlines/airport officials.
Why does this go on in film today?
Because it goes on in real life today! -
andrea-fryer — 12 years ago(April 24, 2013 10:54 AM)
I found myself enjoying the film for the most part, the beginning was especially delightful and I wasn't budging an eye away from the screen during the first part. I found myself breaking out in laughter several times in delight. The comedy was such good feel humor! What's most important was I was fully able to empathize and feel the whole experience through Tom's character.
However, there were spots that really brought things down, pretty much all the romance related stuff for one. Yeah right, like that lady at the desk would have accepted marriage the first time she finally met the guy face to face at the cafe. The whole fountain scene could have been amazing but what the fact that the water never worked at all just dampened the whole scene. The fact that the stewardess went for the wrong guy in the end certainly didn't help and in general her behavior was a little over the top. I did enjoy the scene where his buddies arranged for her to fall into his lap though, that was perfect!
I think this film would have been a classic had it been a bit more polished, there were so many scenes that just felt like they did things on the fly and never had time to properly decide how things happen, just very random weird stuff that left you wondering in a distracting way. The film would have needed much more editing and like someone here said, chopping 30 min off would have helped!
But will I recommend it to others? Yes - with a pinch of salt. Will I watch it again some day? Sure, some day. Would I ever buy the DVD? Naaaaah. -
rizdek — 12 years ago(October 22, 2013 04:31 AM)
This post states and answers its own questions.
"The movie has no point"
Then
"Crazy-minded officials are NOT OKAY. Even if they are "following the rules", because the rules are also NOT OKAY." "Those [crazy minded official] people are but an ugly pimple on the face of the earth."
That was the point.
The movie did NOT make 'em seem like cool guys or "sort of" ok. If you thought that, you were misled and didn't understand. So perhaps YOUR complaint was that the movie didn't make it clear enough to YOU that the terminal officials were being jerks. I got it.
It wasn't the greatest movie and it was a bit contrived, but it was in interesting concept.