Lost in Translation
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Movie Reviews of Lost in Translation
Movie Review: crowded, surrounded and utterly lonely
Summary: 5 Stars
Bill Murray masterfully plays Bob Harris, an actor more famous for his car chase scenes in the 1970s than any current endeavor. Harris is jetlagged and bewildered in the eastern city of lights - Tokyo. He is being paid $2million to endorse a Japanese whiskey for print and TV media. His wife is back home in sunny California with their kids, treating her life as a housewife more as a career that's going nowhere rather than a relationship. She is obsessed with redecorating Bob's office and faxes him shelf plans in the middle of the night, sends him carpet samples via FedEx, and berades him on the phone, never once saying she misses or loves him.Scarlett Johansson plays Charlotte, only married for 2 years to a successful photographer on assignment in Japan. Her husband John (Giovanni Ribisi) is always telling Charlotte how much he loves her, but doesn't show it, He never makes time for her or even acknowledges how lonely she must be. He is surrounded by English-speaking celebrities all day long during his photo-shoots, and Charlotte is utterly isolated in the bustling city of Tokyo, elbow to elbow with people who look different and don't speak her language.
Like two tiny light bulbs in a dark room, Bob & Charlotte make eye contact in the hotel's bar. Bob has been perched on the same bar stool for so many hours each evening, his butt print is almost a permanent addition to the bar's decor.
Bob & Charlotte instantly connect - truly strangers in a strange land. Both in places they don't want to be without anyone else to talk to. Bob tries connecting with his wife on the phone, but she is more concerned with her kids' eating habits than to listen to her husband who is on the other side of the world. Charlotte tries calling friends in the states, but they don't hear the utter loneliness in her voice and tell her to "have fun! I've got to go now!"
Bob and Charlotte never have to explain their lonliness to one another, they experience it and know it when they see it. Whether they are the only two people in the bar that seem to be thinking instead of just nodding heads, or when they are the two slow-moving people in a speedy river of locals on their way to work, school or an arcade.
The unspoken is obvious - in many ways, despite their backgrounds and age difference, they are soul mates. They connect at a level that neither of them has been able to do with their own spouses. No sexual interludes happen between them, just a very subtle touch here and there that is much like the non-sexual touch of friendship couples have when they have been together many years and are very close. The angst between them is the most binding force they have.
Many lonely scenes penetrate the viewer. Bob goes to the swimming pool at the hotel. On one occasion, a water aerobics class is taking place on the other half of the pool, while Bob is solitary on the other side, swimming laps. In another scene, he is literally the only one there in this gigantic Olympic-size pool - almost like the room was constructed solely for his benefit.
Charlotte bounces from sitting in her messy hotel room, staring out the window at the crowded city, filled with millions of people, to taking a train to Kyoto to see the Buddhist monestary, just anything to connect with someone, anyone.
Murray is stuck in one insulting photo shoot after another. His Japanese assistant does a less than complete job of translating for him, which makes the assignments that much more miserable. He is cornered into appearing on a Japanese talk show, whose host is referred to as "the Johnny Carson of Japan." He finally caves in and agrees to do the show, to find out that the host is more a combinaiton of Elton John and Benny Hill - with a stage set like "Laugh In."
The only thing making his stay in Japan bearable is Charlotte, who takes him out on the town with friends to eat, sing Karaoke or just hang out and smoke. Even when they are out with Charlotte's friends, they are still alone - it is only when they are alone together that the lonliness subsides. The two of them sharing their lonliness is enough to give the illusion that they are no longer lonely.
Interwoven with the stark scenes of lonliness and human apathy are hilarious cross-cultural scenes, mostly stemming from the language barrier. The city is a city of contrasts. Everyone is so polite, they bow, give gifts and smile a lot, but they are always in a hurry and anxious to make you rush along as well. Lest you oversleep, the blinds automatically open at dawn to accost the hotel guest with the morning sun.
This is a great film, but not one to see when you're sleepy or depressed. If you are already feeling lonely, alone, sad or depressed, this movie will be the antithesis of a "pick-me-up" and should be avoided. The long, quiet scenes can lull the very tired into a coma, but this film is a class act. Coppola and Murray have definitely earned their Oscar® nominations.
Movie Review: Stunning
Summary: 5 Stars
I was sceptical when I first heard that Sofia Coppola, the daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, wanted to become a director. This seemed to be carrying even Hollywood nepotism way too far. I'm happy to say that Sofia Coppola completely overcame my scepticism with her first film: "The Virgin Suicides". Now, with "Lost in Translation" she's made a film so full of charm and observation that I just can't wait to see what she's going to do next.
Although "Lost in Translation" stars Bill Murray, it's not one of his mainstream comedies but an - often humorous - offbeat love story, or friendship story, or lost soul story. It's the fact that you end up not quite sure which that is a major part of its charm.
Sofia Coppola's script is fairly minimalist, leaving plenty of room for Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanssen to develop their characters' relationships through looks, gestures, moments of silence. And then there are the added complications. Murray's character Bob Harris is facing a mid-life crisis. Johanssen's Charlotte is in her early to mid-twenties. Both are married.
Bob is a slightly over the hill actor who - he tells Charlotte - could be at home doing a play but is in Tokyo to do an ad for whisky for 2 million dollars. Charlotte is the wife of a fashion photographer (played by Giovanni Ribisi) who's in town to do a shoot. Charlotte's been married two years, and is beginning to think she doesn't really know who her husband is. Bob has been married for 25 years and it's a marriage that seems to exist for the sake of the children. During their cross world phone calls neither he nor his wife seem to be very open with one another emotionally.
Both characters are jet-lagged and suffering from insomnia. In the early hours of the morning they find themselves sitting next to one another in the hotel bar, and they begin to get to know one another, something that probably would not have happened had they not been adrift, strangers in a strange land.
And to them at least Tokyo is a strange land. Charlotte feels the alienation of the outsider. Bob's cultural collisions are somewhat more amusing. Some, most notably a session shooting photographs for the whiskey campaign, are ad-libbed by Murray and the Japanese cast. In another scene a Japanese prostitute sent to his room by his gracious hosts won't take no for an answer, and seems determined that he should lick her tights or lip her tights. It takes him a while to catch on.
Film-makers sometimes don't do so well when they are visiting another culture. Even a mostly observant director like Wim Wenders can find him or herself coming over as a cultural tourist, as Wenders did in "Tokyo-Ga".
Coppola and her cameraman Lance Acord, take us through a similar landscape, of pachinko parlours, video game arcades, and karaoke bars, but they're less overwhelmed with the environment and a bit more willing to draw satire from it. A Japanese character nicknamed Charlie Brown singing the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen" in a karaoke bar, does - after all - have potentially humorous overtones. And the film's not any less satirical in its portrayal of many of the Western characters, including a Western lady jazz singer in the hotel bar, a Hollywood actress in Japan to promote an action movie in which she co-starred with Keanu Reeves, or even Bob himself. One encounter between Bob and the jazz singer, and its after-effects, are simultaneously stinging, funny and poignant.
Bob stays in Tokyo a few extra days to appear on an absurd TV chat show. Charlotte is left alone as her husband leaves town for a shoot. They begin to hang out together. They begin to realise that despite the age difference, and their different places in life they are experiencing very similar self-doubts. And they like each other. A lot. But where are they going to go with it? I'm not going to give much of that away, but it's an extremely sensitive portrayal of a budding relationship between what is - in some ways only - an odd couple.
Sofia Coppola's casting is inspired. The origin of the film was the city of Tokyo itself, which Coppola felt she wanted to put on screen, But once she'd decided that she began to look for characters and - from the beginning - had Murray in mind. In "Lost in Translation" Murray gives free rein to both his comic ability and his sensitivity.
Cast opposite him, Scarlet Johansen is about five years younger than the character she's playing. She's not yet even twenty, but she is already more than able to suggest a level of complexity far beyond her years.
Much the same statement also applies to director and screenwriter Sofia Coppola. Some have been sceptical about how someone so young could get into the head of a middle aged guy having a mid-life crisis. It doesn't surprise me so much. Coppola clearly possesses the art, insight and sensitivity to do it. And the only criticism I have about "Lost in Translation" is that it's all over way too fast.
Movie Review: Welcome surprise
Summary: 5 Stars
I was sceptical when I first heard that Sofia Coppola, the daughter of director Francis Ford Coppola, wanted to become a director. This seemed to be carrying even Hollywood nepotism way too far. I'm happy to say that Sofia Coppola completely overcame my scepticism with her first film: "The Virgin Suicides". Now, with "Lost in Translation" she's made a film so full of charm and observation that I just can't wait to see what she's going to do next.
Although "Lost in Translation" stars Bill Murray, it's not one of his mainstream comedies but an - often humorous - offbeat love story, or friendship story, or lost soul story. It's the fact that you end up not quite sure which that is a major part of its charm.
Sofia Coppola's script is fairly minimalist, leaving plenty of room for Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson to develop their characters' relationships through looks, gestures, moments of silence. And then there are the added complications. Murray's character Bob Harris is facing a mid-life crisis. Johanssen's Charlotte is in her early to mid-twenties. Both are married.
Bob is a slightly over the hill actor who - he tells Charlotte - could be at home doing a play but is in Tokyo to do an ad for whisky for 2 million dollars. Charlotte is the wife of a fashion photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) who's in town to do a shoot. Charlotte's been married two years, and is beginning to think she doesn't really know who her husband is. Bob has been married for 25 years and it's a marriage that seems to exist for the sake of the children. During their cross world phone calls neither he nor his wife seem to be very open with one another emotionally.
Both characters are jet-lagged and suffering from insomnia. In the early hours of the morning they find themselves sitting next to one another in the hotel bar, and they begin to get to know one another, something that probably would not have happened had they not been adrift, strangers in a strange land.
And to them at least Tokyo is a strange land. Charlotte feels the alienation of the outsider. Bob's cultural collisions are somewhat more amusing. Some, most notably a session shooting photographs for the whiskey campaign, are ad-libbed by Murray and the Japanese cast. In another scene a Japanese prostitute sent to his room by his gracious hosts won't take no for an answer, and seems determined that he should lick her tights or lip her tights. It takes him a while to catch on.
Film-makers sometimes don't do so well when they are visiting another culture. Even a mostly observant director like Wim Wenders can find him or herself coming over as a cultural tourist, as Wenders did in "Tokyo-Ga".
Coppola and her cameraman Lance Accord, take us through a similar landscape, of pachinko parlours, video game arcades, and karaoke bars, but they're less overwhelmed with the environment and a bit more willing to draw satire from it. A Japanese character nicknamed Charlie Brown singing the Sex Pistols "God Save the Queen" in a karaoke bar, does - after all - have potentially humorous overtones. And the film's not any less satirical in its portrayal of many of the Western characters, including a Western lady jazz singer in the hotel bar, a Hollywood actress in Japan to promote an action movie in which she co-starred with Keanu Reeves, or even Bob himself. One encounter between Bob and the jazz singer, and its after-effects, are simultaneously stinging, funny and poignant.
Bob stays in Tokyo a few extra days to appear on an absurd TV chat show. Charlotte is left alone as her husband leaves town for a shoot. They begin to hang out together. They begin to realise that despite the age difference, and their different places in life they are experiencing very similar self-doubts. And they like each other. A lot. But where are they going to go with it? I'm not going to give much of that away, but it's an extremely sensitive portrayal of a budding relationship between what is - in some ways only - an odd couple.
Sofia Coppola's casting is inspired. The origin of the film was the city of Tokyo itself, which Coppola felt she wanted to put on screen, But once she'd decided that she began to look for characters and - from the beginning - had Murray in mind. In "Lost in Translation" Murray gives free rein to both his comic ability and his sensitivity.
Cast opposite him, Scarlet Johansson is about five years younger than the character she's playing. She's not yet even twenty, but she is already more than able to suggest a level of complexity far beyond her years.
Much the same statement also applies to director and screenwriter Sofia Coppola. Some have been sceptical about how someone so young could get into the head of a middle aged guy having a mid-life crisis. It doesn't surprise me so much. Coppola clearly possesses the art, insight and sensitivity to do it. And the only criticism I have about "Lost in Translation" is that it's all over way too fast.
Movie Review: Adrift on Scarlet Twilight.
Summary: 5 Stars
Imposing Tokyo is a city of too much crowded streets and too much empty ones. Down town surrounded by everlasting lights and continuous movement on every sighting, everyone follows their own path. I suppose after a while living here, you take everything for granted. It may become tedious. Its overwhelming technology constituted and penetrates every skyscraper and advertisement. A night stroll through this marvelous city aside a love one can picture perfect how intimacy can be achieved by huge surroundings of people and endless movement. Why? Romantic love between a man and a woman is a constant of two, a third one means crowd. So, this two are immerse on each other enjoying this touring through Tokyo. The strolling goes on as the characters talk, laugh, and fool around each other. Simple mundane seduction, the unique of it is in the difference of each others persona. In their sorrow and meaningless existence they are aware of this mundane stroll. They fall in love, no longer mundane but unique. Now they are Bob and Charlotte, not that lone Wife and the depressive Actor, what ever his name is (Bob Harris isn't it?). More strolling as the couple gaze at that Big Pink Dinosaur. Some jokes here and there, when at last they understand that they are alone with each other. That's all the comfort one needs. Still surrounded by massive amounts of people strolling through the streets (got the picture?).
To cheer you up, to hold you save, still strolling through Tokyo and its overwhelming architecture, the couple feels the bond. What a great time to be with each other! Bond together. Time for a Whisky. Cheers!
Wake up, it's late already! Got to work. Where is my Husband? That damn Translator sucks big time! Some fancy actress, I just can't stand her stupid smile! At least I'm getting paid for this commercial. At least there is Tokyo right outside the window. Tonight's plan will take us to one of those popular bars where you can be alone with your friends and have a good time. Karaoke! Now I know you better. I don't want to be alone tonight, so stay with me please? We'll share the sorrow. It's about the dept of your gaze and the sharing of our silence. It pleases me to be with you. Bob and Charlotte. Yours truly!
Don't feel sad, we'll come together again. Now Charlotte strolls alone in Tokyo, and Bob impatiently awaits for her to come back to America. Then we'll sketch a dinner or something and begin an affair. Remember the way we where back in Tokyo?
No stereotypes, no clichés, and by no means the standard romantic comedy formula is used in any to way to cheapens this carefully constructed atmosphere of lonesome existences and frailty of the soul. Reality is at every moment present to express a direct mood of despair. Sweet jokes and mundane speeches, just a man a woman coming together as in real life happens. That's why it's simple but sober script penetrates the viewer with gallantly and emotiveness. Never in this picture a glimpse of hypocrite manipulation is seen to force a tear in the spectator. Sophia Coppola's pace and cinematic composure is perfect and flawless. The acting level is simply splendid. Highly in shape, Bill Murray is the perfect muse, natural, complex, as far as I am concern, this is no acting but a real life person caught in motion. Tender Scarlett Johansson pleases the eye with every gesture and word, sexy and lone, a breathtaking performance my dear. The photography is no post-card but a realistic color depict of the great Tokyo gathered with an exact camera movement. Music to assists the images and increase the great balance achieved in this less that 30 days shooting. A.K.A.: Lost in Translation.
And so, the excellent DVD transferring offers DTS sound, Dolby Digital 5.1, A conversation with Sophia and Bill, the Making Of, an extend version of that weird Japanese T.V Show, plus some more goodies.
The climax comes when Bob soft spokes some words to Charlotte, gaining an instant smile on her face. That's one of the best depictions of hope ever caught in Cinema History. He comes back to the limousine with a big sense of fulfillment. She continues her stroll, alone yes, but with a huge gaze of happiness and satisfaction. Simply an unprecedented kind of beauty never shown before on the big screen. Then the end credits appear: Directed by the great Sophia Coppola, featuring the amazing performances of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, etc, etc.
It's about people we met briefly in our lives, but how we can talk about them forever, and never get tire of it.
Movie Review: A classic love story and a trip to Japan!
Summary: 5 Stars
What to do while watching: Try to guess what's going to happen. Meanwhile, don't miss the savvy sound track and fascinating glimpse of JapanWhat to eat while watching: Sake from one of those square, wooden cups. If you don't own one, you could make one from scrap two-by-fours. How hard could it be?
Some people don't like it. For them it's not enough, somehow. Maybe it's too haphazard, too free from uproar and hysteria, too much like regular life. Maybe these are the people who feel that movies should be something far bigger than life--more like reality TV. For them, Lost in Translation is exactly that. That the Academy-Award-winning screenplay of Sofia Coppola hinges to some degree on an inaudible line might throw off viewers who like things to be simple and obvious.
Your friend Gooden tends to get grouchy, however, when a writer or director holds my hand too much. I don't want to see a family reunited knowing that I'm expected to cry. I like when a story ends before all plot lines are drawn to a close, like the final scene in Laurel Canyon where the protagonist sinks into the swimming pool, questions unanswered, or Memento where you leave the theater unsure what happened or countless other examples.
I like to reach the end of the film wondering about the characters in their world. Especially when I'm watching a DVD and I have time to look at the bonus features, which often adds fuel to my imagination's fire.
Lost in Translation is very subtle. There are several transcendent moments that tie back into the title without elbowing you in the side. Coppola's other work The Virgin Suicides stands in contrast. That film was heavy handed in all regards with broadly stereotyped characters doing things that were as predictable as they were melodramatic.
Obviously Coppola has matured as a writer. The uncanny Bill Murray shines as Bob Harris, an aging movie star well into the product-spokesperson phase of his career. He travels to Japan to film whiskey ads and finds himself sunk into deep loneliness. He does not like hobnobbing with the sundry Westerners who recognize him and around the Japanese majority in Japan, he is awkwardly blocked by linguistic and cultural barriers.
In the same hotel is Charlotte (the fetching Scarlett Johansson), new wife of an up-and-coming young photographer. She's come with him to Japan because she's just earned her philosophy degree from Yale and doesn't know what else to do with herself. Note that Johansson is a transparent, or at least translucent, doppelganger for Coppola herself, a young woman, born to a leisurely life, trying to find herself. Such is the woman we saw at the awards petulantly fidgeting with her Oscar.
Charlotte is clearly a brainy character. She takes herself by day into Japan to discover its mysteries and wonders. Nevertheless, she too is lonely with her husband gone most of the time. In a subtle moment, she glances at some polaroids of her husband and herself. In these photos, he is looking out of the picture at the camera, not at Charlotte. She notices this at a significant time, but the moment is simply what it is: no attention is called to the detail, and, in fact, the Mrs. didn't even notice it.
Both Bob and Charlotte are plagued with insomnia, and they take to drinking in the hotel bar. It isn't long before they meet and, charming as they both are, they start to hang out. They drink together and eventually have a nighttime adventure when Charlotte goes to visit a Japanese friend from college and Bob tags along. The all-night party takes them from place to place in a dizzying montage of Japan's hip cultural circles. At last, the two fall asleep only to repeat the adventure the following night.
The story sets up for a torrid love tryst between the young Charlotte and the mature Bob. In many movies, something explosive would have to occur, bringing sadness, regret, craziness, murder, or something to grip the "gimme-it-straight" type of audience member. But this isn't most movies. Both characters have their marriages, challenges and all, and Bob deftly sublimates the sexual tension.
The friendship, therefore, is very touching. The two teach one another very lovely and ephemeral lessons. I call this movie a classic because it has a sense of innocence and simplicity that I associate with golden-era films. There's an earnest attempt to portray several characters, two in the middle, with all their foibles. It's a film like this that one can enjoy like a good book. It can envelope you and change you with a soft touch. I look forward to Coppola's next work.