Tom Hanks has become such a universal actor that you just can expect him to play any role and know that you’ll be entertained– even if one of those roles calls for him to pop a giant cyst growing on his spine.
Blood and vomit aside,Tom Hanks shines in A Hologram for the King, a film directed by Tom Tykwer, who also directed Hanks in Cloud Atlas. The film, also starring Sarita Choudhury and Alexander Black, follows Alan Clay (Hanks) as he travels to Saudi Arabia to sell the king hologram technology.
The film remarkably combines excellent visuals with a depressingly lonely story of Alan, almost akin to Lost in Translation. What is so remarkable about the film, however, is that it has no agenda in trying to compare and contrast Saudi Arabia from Alan’s American culture; but rather, we see the world through Alan’s eyes and are completely immersed in what he experiences. Anything from drinking liquor to driving in the heat– we feel it as if we are really there.
A Hologram for the King offers a new look in the Lost in Translation type films, where it no longer becomes the story of one man who goes on a journey, trying to regain his self-confidence as his depression slowly takes over. No, rather, it becomes a new story of a man who has far too many responsibilities and is just trying to make ends meet as he makes the best with what he’s got. With amazing visuals brought by Tykwer, as well as a beautiful underwater sequence, you can be sure to expect to fall in love with Hanks and Choudhury over and over again.
Check out our interviews with several of the cast below, and be sure to check out the trailer as well.
Sarita Choudhury:
Alexander Black:
David Menkin:
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Megan Maczko:
Christy Meyer:
Trailer:
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