In 2004, the world was captivated by the movie The Terminal starring Tom Hanks. It was a heartwarming story about an Eastern-European immigrant who finds himself stuck in JFK International Airport after his country is destroyed in a political coup. But this seemingly fictional tale had a much more rooted basis in reality than what audiences may have originally thought. In this blog post, we will be exploring the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, the inspiration behind The Terminal. His remarkable journey has taken him on an epic odyssey spanning three decades and three continents. We’ll be digging into his fascinating biography to discover his extraordinary life story and find out how it resulted in one of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters of all time.
The real-life inspiration for the movie The Terminal
The Terminal is a 2004 American comedy-drama film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Hanks. The film is loosely based on the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, an Iranian man who lived in the Charles de Gaulle International Airport in Paris for 18 years from 1988 to 2006.
Nasseri arrived at the airport in 1988 with all of his possessions, including his Iranian passport and refugee papers from the United Nations. However, due to the outbreak of the Iran–Iraq War, Nasseri’s passport had been revoked by the Iranian government and he was unable to continue his journey to England where he had been granted asylum. Nasseri was therefore forced to live in the airport terminal as he was not allowed to enter France and was not permitted to return to Iran.
Over the next eighteen years, Nasseri became something of a celebrity at the airport terminal, with many of the staff and passengers knowing him by name. He even inspired a character in a best-selling novel by Michel Bussi called After Me Comes the Flood. In 2006, Nasseri was finally granted permission to leave the airport and he now lives in a small apartment in Paris.
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The man who lived in an airport for 18 years
In 1983, Mehran Karimi Nasseri arrived at London’s Heathrow Airport from Iran. He had with him a few belongings and his Iranian passport. Nasseri attempted to board a flight to Paris, but his passport was deemed invalid because it had been damaged. Without any other form of identification, Nasseri was not allowed to leave the airport and was effectively stranded.
The British authorities tried to deport Nasseri back to Iran, but he refused to go, claiming that he would be imprisoned or executed if he returned. With no other options available, Nasseri took up residence in the terminal’s departure lounge. He lived there for 18 years.
Nasseri survived by begging for money and food and sleeping on a bench in the terminal. He became something of a celebrity, and his story was featured in newspapers and on television around the world. In 2001, Steven Spielberg made a movie based on Nasseri’s story, The Terminal, starring Tom Hanks.
Today, Nasseri is still living in the airport terminal, waiting for his situation to be resolved so he can finally board a plane and start his journey to Paris.
How the film differs from the true story
There are several key ways in which the film The Terminal differs from the true story on which it is based. Perhaps most significantly, the character of Viktor Navorski (played by Tom Hanks in the film) is entirely fictional – he is a composite of several different people who were stranded at airports for extended periods of time. In addition, the timeline of events in the film has been condensed and dramatised for cinematic effect – in reality, “the man without a country” was stuck at JFK airport for 18 years, not just a few months as depicted in the movie.
Other notable differences include the addition of a love story between Viktor and flight attendant Amelia Warren (Catherine Zeta-Jones), which does not exist in real life, and the decision to make Viktor’s native country Krakozhia a fictitious Eastern European nation rather than an actual country that might cause offence. Finally, while Viktor’s plight in the film ultimately has a happy ending as he is granted US citizenship, many of the real-life inspirations for his character were not so fortunate – some remained trapped in legal limbo for years, never regaining their freedom.
What happened to the man after the movie was made
The man on whom the movie was based, Mehran Karimi Nasseri, continued to live in Terminal One of Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 more years, until 2006. He initially refused all offers of help from the French government and charitable organizations, saying he wanted to stay in the airport because it was the only place where he felt truly welcome and accepted. However, he eventually relented and was taken in by a shelter for homeless men in Paris. He died there in August 2016 at the age of 73.
Conclusion
The Terminal is a remarkable movie that captures the true story of Mehran Karimi Nasseri, who was stranded in Charles de Gaulle Airport for almost two decades. The incredible strength and resilience Nasseri displayed while living through this ordeal has been an inspiration to many people around the world. It’s amazing to think that such a real-life drama can be captured so accurately on film and is further proof of how fact can sometimes be stranger than fiction.