Witty, Charming, Funny
Year Released 2004
Directed by: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Chi McBride, Stanley Tucci
(PG-13, 128 min.)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

“You say you are waiting for something. And I say to you, yes, yes. We all wait…I wait for you.” Viktor to Amelia

Is there any better everyman than Tom Hanks? He always makes us care about his characters. Even if they are “in charge” or “heroes” like Sully or Captain Phillips, they are always human and vulnerable. But in this case Hanks is neither a pilot nor a ship captain; he just a stranded traveler waiting at an airport.

We have all been there, and probably more of us recently, but in this 2004 film Tom Hanks is stranded on steroids.

“See. You don't qualify for asylum, refugee status, temporary protective status, humanitarian parole, or non-immigration work travel or diplomatic visas. You don't qualify for any of these things. You are at this time simply - unacceptable.” Frank Dixon, Customs Official to Viktor Navoski

Viktor Navoski is a man without a country; his plane’s in flight while a coup d’état explodes in his homeland. Now, because he holds a passport nobody recognizes, he’s stranded at JFK Airport. Until someone can figure out what to do with him, Viktor simply goes on living – and courts romance with a beautiful flight attendant. She may have feelings for him too. But what good is love if Viktor can't leave the terminal?

The Terminal is loosely based on the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri (aka Sir Alfred Mehran), an Iranian refugee who spent 18 years living inside Terminal One at Charles de Gaulle Airport in France after his passport was revoked. –Danny Milton

But The Terminal is certainly not a documentary or even a semi documentary. It is a pure delight, and in a sense, a kind of Cinderella story. But with Viktor as his own fairy godmother, and perhaps the airport staff who befriend him the mice transformed into dancing steeds. The lonely foreigner who speaks almost no English seeks out a book written in his language and pairs it with the English version, both readily available at the airport stores. Bam! He teaches himself mostly passable English. Except for those tricky idions.

Practice as he may, however, he never masters “a bite to eat.” So he casually asks the beautiful flight attendant Amelia (Catherine Zeta-Jones) if she would like “an eat to bite.”

However, even that faux pas does not slow the undaunted Viktor. Insinuating himself in an airport wing under reparations, he drags in enough furniture to make a cute little hideaway, and then on a whim, decides to make it a little cozier. Who would have known he was such a whiz at carpentry, not just the two by four stuff, but the esteemed “finish” variety? After a few days with the saws and hammers left behind, he creates a palatial little sanctuary, complete with molding that would awe an expert.

And it actually does. When the real crew arrives, the boss is so impressed he hires Viktor on the spot, paying him under the table, of course.

The airport workers are no slouches themselves, either. They have weekly poker games, not gambling for cash, but for the slew of treasures abandoned in the lost and found. A huge mounted swordfish is Viktor’s prize one night, although when he tries to gift it to someone, he has to fold his hand.

Viktor even becomes an awkward matchmaker for Enrique (Diego Luna), the food cart driver and Dolores (Zoe Saldana), the focus of his admiration, who runs the Visa desk. If he can move things along, Viktor can eat like a king, not just a Burger King, but the real gourmet stuff that Enrique can access. No bites at the Visa desk until Viktor discovers Dolores’ true passion, and soon everyone can live long and prosper.

Part of the fun is watching these small fiefdoms and the bureaucratic labyrinths at the airport, which itself becomes a sort of character.

Gupta, the lobby floor cleaner, refuses to let Viktor claim something from his trash basket without making an appointment one week in advance.

Stanley Tucci’s Frank Dixon is a customs official, and after first ushering Viktor into forced exile in the transit lounge, he changes course when he sees Viktor not only surviving from thriving in his forced lockdown. Viktor’s shenanigans are not going to impress the inspectors about to do a field review, Dixon vows to make him someone else’s problem. He tries coaxing him to claim asylum and thus be allowed to stay in New York for years until his case is heard – sounds vaguely familiar, doesn’t it? But Viktor isn’t falling for it. He wants his liberty the right way and will not falsely claim that he fears for his life if he is returned to his beloved Krakozhia.

***

In essence, like Godot, everyone is Viktor. They are all waiting. For Amelia, the beautiful flight attendant, it is marriage to the man who already has a wife. For Gupta, the inevitable tap on his shoulder and the discovery of his real identity. For Frank Dixon, it’s passing inspection and getting a promotion. Viktor waits to get into New York, but we will not find the reason why for some time.

Will he get there and accomplish what he has vowed to do? Will the lovely Amelia see that he is really the knight in shining armor for whom she has been waiting?

You will have to watch the film to find out. But remember, it is only one part Cinderella. The other part is Waiting for Godot.

–Kathy Borich
🥁 🥁 🥁 🥁

Trailer

Film-Loving Foodie

Getting something to eat for Viktor during the 9 months he is stranded at JKF starts off as a necessity and not a luxury. The food coupons he is given to tide him over get blown away and put in the trash, which he cannot access because the comically officious cleaner Gupta (Kumar Pallana) only accepts appointments for searching his trash.

You may wonder why he never cracks open the peanut butter tin he guards with his life, but I am not going to spoil it for you.

Thus, like those penurious spring break college students, he subsists on saltine cracker sandwiches, made luscious with gobs of mustard oozing out the holes on top.

Then the resourceful Viktor observes people getting a quarter refund when they return their luggage carts to the rack, and he starts collecting derelict carts left adrift, even if he has to unceremoniously dump out a few kiddos tooling around in them.

Using this system, Viktor watches the luggage coin returns spew forth quarters like an errant slot machine and he goes from the 3 quarter regular whopper to feasting at Burger King almost like one.

Finally, his talent and ingenuity triumph, and Viktor is able to take Amelia, the flight attendant he falls in love with, for a candlelight supper provided by the many friends he has made at the airport. They magically, become Maître d's, waiters, a rather too generous sommelier (I had to throw in a fancy French word for wine pourer), as well as my favorite, Gupta, performing little tricks adjacent to their table, a la the old Ed Sullivan magicians for those of us who can remember. The juggling feats get more and more difficult, while the lovely Amelia tries to ignore the inevitable crash of broken crockery tumbling to the floor.

Let’s cook up that Cannelloni for Viktor and Amelia, even if they never do get to eat it. Our recipe is as easy as it is delicious.

Airport Cannelloni

Super Simple Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

Quick, easy and delicious, this Super Simple Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni makes the perfect easy midweek meal served with a simple side salad. –Eb Gargano

Ingredients

Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni

18 oz fresh spinach
9 oz ricotta cheese
Zest and juice of half a lemon
6 basil leaves roughly torn
1 oz parmesan grated
12 cannelloni tubes (or fresh pasta sheets - see note 1)
Salt and pepper

Tomato Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves peeled and sliced finely
2 14oz tins chopped tomatoes

Cheese Sauce

1 oz butter
1 oz plain flour
1 cup milk
1 oz parmesan
Pinch of nutmeg

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 200C /180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F.

Place a large colander in the sink. Put the spinach in the colander and pour over enough boiling water to wilt the spinach. Leave to drain and cool.

Next gently fry the sliced garlic in a tablespoon of olive oil for a minute or two. Do not allow the garlic to colour. Tip in the 2 tins of tomatoes and bring the sauce to the boil. Turn off the heat and leave.
Next make the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a medium sized pan on a low heat. When the butter is foaming, add the flour and stir until it’s mixed in. Then keep cooking for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
Very gradually add the milk, stirring constantly. Make sure each bit of milk is incorporated before you add the next bit. If you do this slowly on a very low heat, you should end up with a smooth sauce with no lumps. However, if it does go wrong for any reason, you can always use a whisk to beat out the lumps.
When all the milk is incorporated, turn off the heat and add the parmesan, nutmeg, salt and pepper.
The spinach should now be cool enough to handle. Squeeze the spinach in your hands to get as much of the water out as you can, roughly chop it and then tip the spinach into a bowl.
Add the ricotta, basil, lemon zest and lemon juice to the spinach and mix together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
To assemble the cannelloni: pour half the tomato sauce into a large ovenproof dish (big enough to fit 12 cannelloni tubes on one level.) Fill each cannelloni tube with about 2 tablespoons of mixture, using a teaspoon or piping bag. Arrange the tubes in the dish. Pour over the remaining tomato sauce and then the cheese sauce, ensuring all the cannelloni tubes are well covered with sauce.
Bake for 20 minutes until golden and bubbling. Serve with a side salad and some garlic bread too, if you fancy.

Notes

If you can't get hold of cannelloni tubes, use fresh lasagne sheets instead. Fill each lasagne sheet with about 2 tablespoons of mixture and roll into tubes. Arrange the tubes in the dish, seam side down, then continue with the recipe as written.
Suitable for freezing.
Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

Easy Peasy Foodie.com