Inspired by the case of a displaced, undocumented Iranian trapped in a French airport for more than a decade, Steven Spielberg downplays the absurd ambiguities inherent in this Kafka-esque premise and crafts a squishy fairy tale about the pluck and fundamental decency of the common man. While Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) is in transit between his native Krakozhia — a generic Slavic country somewhere in Russia's general vicinity — and New York, a military coup takes place. He debarks at JFK airport and steps into a bureaucratic quagmire; his passport and U.S.-entry visa are now invalid, but he can't be sent home until Krakozhia's new government is officially recognized...
Released:
2004
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
128 mins