A Pleasantly Meandering Journey of Self-Discovery
Adapted from Dave Eggers' novel of the same name, A Hologram for the King finds floundering American salesman Alan Clay (Tom Hanks) journeying to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to pitch the king on a new 3D holographic video conferencing technology to be used in the King's Metropolis of Economy and Trade (KMET), a new mega development that is fledgling, to say the least. When Clay finds that his team is treated like an afterthought, and that there's no clear time when the king will come to see the presentation, he's left to wrestle with issues personal and professional alike. Though the bare outline of the film's story isn't anything new—an American finding direction in their life after traveling to a foreign land has been done many times—Hanks' charm, writer-director Tom Tykwer's visual playfulness, and a genuinely interesting setting, make Hologram a slow but welcome journey to take.
The film opens with a punch of energy as Hanks comes strolling out of his home talking to the camera as though he were in an infomercial while reciting lyrics from Talking Heads' "Once in a Lifetime" as his house, wife, and car disappear into puffs of pink smoke. It's a declaration that A Hologram for the King isn't going to look and sound exactly as you'd expect it to based on its description. Tykwer continues to give the proceedings a visual flair, which helps when the story slows, though it's Hanks' movie star ability to be personable and watchable at all times that make Alan Clay a character worth following. Of course, he does encounter a variety of personalities, from his colorful driver Yousef (Alexander Black) to a flirtatious Danish consultant (Sidse Babett Knudsen), and a Saudi doctor (Sarita Choudhury) who has a knack for diagnosing what bothers him both physically and emotionally.
Tykwer has the film play out in a somewhat repetitive, episodic structure, showing how Clay goes about his day and makes changes in attempts to adapt to, and find relief from, his new surroundings. Though the film is a slight 97 minutes, it feels longer in the right ways. Tykwer successfully puts the audience in Clay's shoes as he tries to overcome his jet lag and get a foothold on the situation he faces in KMET, and it's a process that appropriately involves a lot of failure and wallowing. As the story progresses it's very clear the titular hologram isn't the point of this journey, and to fully enjoy this film requires you to release your expectations and allow Tykwer and Hanks to take you on their offbeat ride.
A Hologram for the King won't please everyone. My mom compared it to Lost in Translation, and I think that comparison is apt, though Hologram puts more levity on the surface than that film. The tale told here won't necessarily surprise or thrill anyone, but taking the journey to Eggers and Tykwer's Saudi Arabia with Tom Hanks as your guide is a pleasant way to approach this kind of story.