A wry peek into the experiences of a washed up
American executive attempting to score an IT contract for the king’s project in
Saudi Arabia. Tom Tykwer and Dave
Eggers are a winning combination, the former as director/writer/composer (Cloud Atlas, Paris, je t’aime, Run Lola Run)
the latter as novelist (A Heartbreaking
Work of Staggering Genius, The Wild Things) and screenwriter (Where the Wild Things are, Promised Land,
Away We Go). Their work has
constant subtle jokes and odd combinations that make it wonderfully
entertaining. Unfortunately, many
viewers will miss the comedy, partly because of the extended frustrations in
the beginning of the film, and partly because it requires alert listening.
In A
Hologram for the King, Alan Clay (Hanks) has wangled a job with an IT
company pursuing a contract to equip a city
the king of Saudi Arabia plans to build.
Clay comes across as a rather disgruntled middle-aged man trying to
adjust to a divorce and money problems following a lucrative career with
Schwinn Bicycles. The film opens
with his plane trip and getting settled into a hotel. He seems very inept as he oversleeps, misses the shuttle to
the work site, and has to hire a driver—who will actually be with him during
most of his stay because Clay gets into various dilemmas. The driver Dave (Whishaw) is one of the
many characters that provide color and humor in the contrasts/conflicts shown
between eastern and western cultures.
Clay has no end of troubles when he arrives
on-site to join his team of young computer whizzes helping him with his
audio-visual presentation to the king.
But days go by, as the king’s visit is postponed and Clay is given
incomplete or wrong information about the facilities and who is available for
assistance. Complicating matters
is a huge bump that has appeared on his back near his spine.
The film has no end of complications, humorous
incongruities, and blessings. It
artfully presents all the characters from their own points of view so that
blaming and identifying the “bad guys” simply doesn’t exist; the film is very
forgiving of human foibles. Clay’s
character is a good mixture of someone trying to do well and right, being
astute and observant, yet bumbling from time to time. It seems hard for him to pull up his assertive self and make
things happen; he only does this after numerous frustrating events. But when he does hop to it, we see that
things get much better.
This is a film for those who listen carefully
to the dialog and catch the running humor in almost every scene, reflecting an
American in a Moslem country, the efforts of a man who must re-invent his life,
the unexpected admiration—and suspicion—of so many American actions by Muslims
in other countries, and the inefficiency of bureaucracies, all interwoven into
the human need for social connection and meaningfulness.
Another truly rewarding part of this film is
the interaction between the actors playing the two main characters. Hanks and Whishaw are entirely in sync,
showing the joy of male bonding and friendship, no matter what their
differences. The addition of
Choudhury as a supportive, romantic interest enhanced the film as a whole.
I especially liked one of the points of the
film about the admiration of America alongside suspicion toward us. We deserve both aspects of our
reputation.
An American in-----Saudi Arabia.
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