Life is waiting...(*remotely surprised* Oh yeah?)

I intend not to jump into an exhaustive review of The Terminal, for I seldom watch movies and even when I do, it is rarely for the purpose of evaluating them. Hence possessing not the sufficient knowledge, I refrain from detailed critique, lest I mess up, I wish not to appear ignorant. Instead this post will shoot off erratically, midway, to a notion that I dwelt upon when the curtains were drawn.

Viktor Navorski (Tom Hanks) is your average immigrant-look-alike (but with absolutely no such intentions, mind you) visiting New York, a city much touted to be a mish-mash of cultures, not unlike Mumbai. Home, for our protagonist, is the fictional East Europian country of Krakozhia, but his linguistic patterns and the script in the guide booklet, point to it possibly being a chip off the old communist block. As is necessary for a story worth telling, circumstances change overnight, a war breaks out in his country whilst he is airborne, his visa is deemed unacceptable at JFK Intn'l and Viktor is forced to spend a part of his lifetime at The Terminal, Gate No 67, with a motley of other play-actors butting in and bowing out time and again.

Spielberg is far from being flawless, some things just don't click, but overall it is worth the popcorn, and Hanks proves his mettle once again, a sincere performance, understated, yet effective. I usually watch out for background scores, but I found none to "earmark" for future reference.

Airport Official : Are you afraid of returning to your country (since its war-ravaged)?
Viktor Navorski : Not afraid. It is home.

Home...
is it really where the heart is?
There are so many of us who are away from where we actually belong to. Employment or studies (I cannot think of any other reason), we blend in comfortably, save for a few hiccups (expected), and very rarely would we chuck all this up and go back to our roots. This is home now, we say. Would we return, forever? (I would refrain from querying if we are afraid of doing so) Hesitation, no we might never make it back, yes, we are afraid, what if we felt alienated "back home"? Most of my peers, I observe, prefer to stay put in their new surroundings.

Reminds me of a conversation I had a few months ago with a Tamil from Mumbai in a train headed for Ernakulam.
"Where are you going", I asked. "Home", he answered, "I am from Kanyakumari. I am accompanying my wife and children, but shall be returning immediately. Its the annual_grandparents_visit for my kids". A slight pause and then, "But they get bored pretty easily, they have grown up in Mumbai, and the lifestyle is so different". His wife, "Sometimes you have to leave home, for better opportunities, you know".

Yes, I very well understand, we live in a practical world, albeit a ruthless one at times, and here the mind rules over the heart, or so you are forced into believing.

Current Music - Romeo and Juliet - Dire Straits
Interesting lyrics, especially the part where Juliet, standing by the window, is accused of saying "Oh Romeo, yeah you know, I used to have a scene with him"