Director: Steven Spielberg

Cast: Tom Hanks, Catherine Zeta - Jones.

This Christmas or New Year make sure you are not in this situation for anyone who has traveled by air must have surely experienced the trauma of having to spend a few hours to a day at an airport terminal due to some delay. Surely never 6 months as is the case of our terminally struck Tom Hanks who is stuck at New York’s JFK airport.

Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks), a citizen of the fictional tiny Eastern European nation of Krakozhia arrives at JFK airport where his passport and visa are no longer valid because his country is in a state of civil unrest. He cannot be deported too. He can't risk to step out in New York though he can see it through the glass doors without being arrested.

Viktor finds his way around to get food and money, taking rewards from pushing trolleys to a job of a painter, mason, making himself part of the airport community. He befriends a Latino food-service worker Enrique (Diego Luna), an African-American baggage handler (Chi McBride), and a janitor Gupta (Kumar Pallana) from India. Enter the beautiful flight attendant Amelie (Catherina Zeta-Jones) his love interest. Viktor also helps in doing some matchmaking for Enrique with a customs employee (Zoë Saldana).

But all this friendship worries Frank (Stanley Tucci), the airport's Director of Customs and Border Protection, who comes up with one scheme after another to get rid of Viktor. What happens to Viktor? Does love catch up with him, does he finish what he’s come to the US for, or does he catch his flight back home? Find out in this brilliant romantic – comedy. Besides the movie, the DVD has no ‘extra’ baggage for look out for

‘The Terminal’ is based on the true-life story of an Iranian man Merhan Nasseri who was forced to live in the Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, from August 1988 to August 2006.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by Verus Ferreira