The basic plot for Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks' newest movie collaboration "The Terminal," — now out on DVD — features a man without a country who's forced to live in an airport, hardly knows the native language, must forage for food and be watched 24/7.

Seems like the perfect plot for a movie, almost.

The movie is loosely based on a true story. According to www.imdb.com, the story was inspired by Merhan Nasseri, who has been living in France's Charles de Gaulle airport since 1988 when his passport and United Nations refugee certificate were stolen. Several countries have said he can enter, but England —which will not let Nasseri enter — is the only country he wants to occupy.

Viktor Navorski (Hanks) is in a similar predicament in "The Terminal." His country faces a military coup that voids his passport, leaving him without a country.

Stanley Tucci portrays the evil airport manager, Frank Dixon, who forces Navorski to stay in the terminal. There is just the right amount of acting that will receive the appropriate amount of contempt from the audience

By the time the movie ends, Navorski's made friends with the entire airport staff, but Joe Mulroy (Chi McBride), Gupta Rajan (Kumar Pallana) and Enrique Cruz (Diego Luna) aid him the most. The three actors work well together, especially Pallana as Rajan, an Indian janitor convinced that Navorski is some sort of undercover officer.

The one character who seems to be misrepresented is Navorski's semi-love interest and a United Airlines flight attendant, Amelia Warren, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones. Zeta-Jones' acting seems forced and uncomfortable rather than of her usual caliber.

In the end, Navorski — unlike his real-life counterpart who is reportedly becoming mentally ill — gets a happy ending, yet it's lacking. The amount of time he spends trapped in the airport seems to be for an insignificant cause, but has a real importance to him.

The movie is cute, but it is not amazing. It is actually hard to believe that it is a movie by Steven Spielberg starring Tom Hanks.

Navorski also learns the English language a little too quickly to be realistic. He begins the movie with a cheat sheet of directions and tries to pass off 'yes' as the answer to everything.

The film's timeline seems out of whack and seems to go through nine months of Navorski's life in a short amount of time when the movie is two hours long.

Dreamworks released two versions of the DVD and both seem to jip the buyer. One version has one-disc containing no special features while the other is a three-disc set that includes the movie, a special features disc and the unnecessary soundtrack.

Grade : C

Special Features: N/A

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Dec. 2 2004.