Lost in Translation (2003)

Not Lost in it's Identity

What is it that makes a movie great? Do we judge by how much our eyes can be entertained or how much our brain can think? Should a movie be scaled on how much blood, boobs and Ka-Booms can fit in 100 min, or how much we can think, ponder, or symbolism. If you weigh your opinion based on the first choice, LiT is about the farthest you can get from entertainment, if you happen to favor the latter, then LiT isen't gold, it's darn-near movie platinum. But if you appreciate both, like me, and want a healthy balance of both, LiT is like a fat-girl with a beautiful personality. If it was in a prettier, flashier body, it'd be your number one pick.

Symbolism, especially in movies, is a double-edged sword, and when it comes to it, most people have a destinct mark of love or hate. LiT is considered a modern masterpeice when it comes to allegories, it has deep themes concerning alienination, culture shock and finding yourself, and all are vibrant throughout. The movie fills it's reel by showing a more serious Bill Murray and the ever so talented Scarlett Johansson exploring these themes so beautifully, meekly and passionatly that it does make you wonder how this could get any better... or if it can put you to sleep faster than NyQuil can. If you think of figurative language less as an art and more as BS, then you would see LiT as two average, boring people living their average boring lives, and we get to see them live it for 100 min. If symbolism isen't your cup of tea, steer far away from what is potentialy a snore-fest.

When it comes to me and my tastes, I need a little of both sides. I can't be fully satisfied with disecting what seems to be an average person's life looking for what the deeper meaning of it all is, but I can't take a straight shoot 'em up movie with a cast full of Jesse Ventura's. January 2, 2009

Occasionally problematic in its treatment of its setting, but an authentically thought-provoking film

For all the acclaim Sofia Coppola's film LOST IN TRANSLATION won upon its release in 2003, I didn't expect the film to have much staying power. For one, upon every viewing one gets increasing peturbed by its treatment of the Japanese, among whom washed-up American actor Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and recent college graduate Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) find themselves. Bob is in town to film a whiskey commercial, while Charlotte accompanies her photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi), who swiftly leaves her alone in her hotel while he goes off to a shoot. Bob, experiencing a midlife crisis, finds company with Charlotte, who is experiencing her own uncertainties the future of her marriage and her ability to establish a career. Together they survive their week among an alien culture with an immense language barrier. Are Coppola's jokes about the Japanese (l/r confusion in phrases like "lip my stockings") adequate ways of expressing Bob and Charlotte's difficulties, or are they just cheap shots? Should we condemn Bob and Charlotte for making so little effort to adapt to their surrounding society, or should we empathize with their difficulties? The cultural issues surrounding LOST IN TRANSLATION might be perennial.

But as I saw this film yet again recently, I find it very thought-provoking, and that certainly makes it stand out among Hollywood productions of these times. As Bob enjoys a night out on the town courtesy of Charlotte, hitting the bars and then going to an after-party in some flat where he smokes up and sings karaoke, we wonder about the possibility of regaining lost youth. When Bob ultimately kisses Charlotte at the close of the film, we are led to question whether merely platonic friendships of the sort they had established earlier can really last. And certainly, regardless of its occasional depiction of Tokyo dwellers as weird, the film does inspire a great desire to visit Japan and see it for oneself. The visuals of LOST IN TRANSLATION are occasionally so lovely that they leave the plot behind.

The film is also has Bill Murray's best performance of his post-GROUNDHOG DAY period, where he became an expert at depicting jadedness. Here this air of being total disinterested in his surroundings is tempered by a warm humanity. Johansson's acting, on the other hand, may be the film's weakest aspect. Regrettably, her presence in the film works only when she is basically just an object, which Coppola often uses her as (the opening shot is of her pantied buttocks as she lies in bed). December 25, 2008

This Movie Is Best Understood by Travelers

Won't give you a synopsis; that's been done. However, I've travelled a lot, and those I know who travelled as much as I really love this movie. If you are away from home, whether in another country or another time zone, it's great to find someone to connect with. I'm not talking about finding someone to have sex with, just mere companionship. If you are at a convention, then you have a greater chance of meeting like-minded individuals. But, if you are basically on your own, for a stretch of time, it can become awfully lonely.

Maybe that's what is "Lost in Translation." Maybe that's why a lot of folks don't get this movie. December 19, 2008

LONELY DAYS, SLEEPLESS NIGHTS

Bill Murray gives perhaps his most understated, and sensitive performance to date in this near-perfect gem of a movie, and Scarlett Johansson showed a poise way beyond her age at the time this pic was made. The chemistry between the two leads is wonderful, and Sofia Coppola's deft direction of her screenplay is equally dynamic. She ( Coppola ) gives a fresh twist to what might have been just another forgettable, May-December romance, and weaves it into a searingly funny, extremely moving, and pretty damn near cliche-free character study. What makes this film work so well is that though these two very different, obviously lonely people, seem entirely meant for one another they manage to avoid doing the expected, and in the process create a much more poignant and compelling statement about love than might have been if the story had ended differently.

Still, one can't help wondering what Bob whispered to Charlotte before they parted.... December 19, 2008

3 stars out of 4

The Bottom Line:

Though the movie's attempts at broad comedy (e.g. the "engrish" speaking prostitute) often fall painfully flat, the May-November scenes between Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray work so well that they more than overcome the movie's faults. December 18, 2008

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