A Hologram for the King

When I see films that surround the very notion of a character having to blend into a foreign culture and running into walls, I could sure empathize with these individuals. It's amazingly effortless to live in one's comfort zone when one is in their own environment, but put them 5,000 miles from where they typically reside and their world is turned upside down. Case in point with "A Hologram for the King" in which a losing salesman is sent to a far away place-- Saudi Arabia of all places to pitch a great idea amidst being a stranger in a strange land.

Cultures collide when an American businessman, Alan Clay (Tom Hanks) is sent to Saudi Arabia to close what he hopes will be the deal of a lifetime. Baffled by local customs and stymied by an opaque bureaucracy, he eventually finds his footing with the help of his wise- cracking driver, Yousef (Alexander Black). As he attempts to reach Karim Al-Amad (Khalid Laith) to consult with, to enable him to set up his presentation for the king, he constantly runs into many 'walls' in this process. As his stress continues to grow, a lipoma-- a fatty cyst, grows on his back, so much so that he is forced into seeking medical treatment. He ends up seeing a Saudi doctor, Zahara (Sarita Choudhury) and after a few appointments, starts to have feelings for her. Soon after, Alan feels his life unraveling if something doesn't start to happen to improve the situation at hand.

Others to round out the cast are Sidse Babett Knudsen as Hanne, Tracey Fairaway as Kit, Alan's daughter, Tom Skerritt as Ron, Alan's father, Ben Whishaw as Dave, Eric Meyers as Eric Randall, Alan's boss, Amira El Sayed as Maha, David Menkin as Brad, Christy Meyer as Cayley, Megan Maczko as Rachel and Jane Perry as Ruby.

This was interestingly directed by Tom Tykwer ("Winter Sleepers" '97, "Run Lola Run" '98, "The Princess and the Warrior" 2000, "Heaven" '02, "The International" '09, "Soul Boy" '10, "3" '10, "Cloud Atlas" '12). I say interestingly because his very resume dictates some films of a quirky nature which exudes an interesting storyline. His characters are typically rich in persona and are dry in nature. Tykwer also writes this story based on the novel by Dave Eggers and his characters are finely delineated. Even if you might not appreciate all Tykwer's stories, one has to respect the originality of the different premises. There were a couple of slow places in this, but not really enough to distract from the story at hand. Both Hanks and Black had an interesting chemistry which worked well, which was the mainstay of this story. Alan habitually woke up late, so he always had to have Yousef drive him to the convention hall, so they were able to bond well during this hour trip one way. What can I say about Hanks? This actor works his magic in every role he conveys which makes it a joy to just sit back and watch him do what he does best--his performance in this is mostly the reason you are viewing this.

The acting and directing in this is enough to see this, but throw in the interesting locales and you've got a nice film with an interesting premise in which to convey to us. With all the big-budget films out there and more coming soon with the summer season right around the corner, it's nice to see a small independent film that's both creative and entertaining.

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                  Rated: R                                 97mins.