Lost in Translation
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Movie Reviews of Lost in Translation
Movie Review: An instant classic and easily one of the best films of this current decade...
Summary: 5 Stars
Pulling up this product to post my review I found myself a little shocked at the very low overall rating this film has received. 148 three-star reviews? 227 two-star reviews? 572 one-star reviews? Really? I can't help but wonder how this marvelous film can receive such little love. Sure, it has 728 five-star reviews (729 if you count mine) but the fact that it has nearly 1,000 mediocre-to-bad ratings is shocking to me, in a bad way. How could people `not get' this movie? I think that reviewer Greg Frayser was right; people just `don't get it'.
That is sad, because what Sophia Coppola has done here is create and deliver a touching and poignant look at humanity at its purest, which is something we rarely see today.
A lot of times we see raw and honest portrayals of the dark side of humanity when we look at intelligent cinema. All too often our own realistic brutality is splashed across the screen, bringing us closer to our very own demons. I applaud filmmakers brave enough to ascertain the notion that honesty is the best policy, willing to expose us for who we are without a care for the audience reaction. This pays off extremely well for some, and I have to admit that I have always gravitated towards the darker corners of the cinematic experience. I feel the need though, especially after seeing all the negative response to this film, to single out Coppola for doing the exact opposite. Instead of focusing on the parts of us we want to hide from, Coppola exposes the purity that is in most of us; giving us a breath of fresh air in a society fixated on clichés and fantastical distortions of reality. `Lost in Translation' is a beautiful and honest account of two people who, simply put, fill and need within one another.
Both Bob and Charlotte are in a strange place, both literally and figuratively. They are both in Tokyo, so there's the `literal' strange place, but they are also both in a difficult and confusing emotional state within their own lives. Bob, an actor, is lost in his own aspirations. He isn't sure why he does what he does. He seems almost apathetic, but it's not apathy that is slowly killing him; it's an emptiness he cannot quite understand. Charlotte, who is traveling with her husband (who is working), is just as lost. Her marriage is new yet feeling tired and her husband's friends and personality make her feel out of place. When you are already empty and alone then strange places can feel like prisons as apposed to adventures. Both Bob and Charlotte find themselves resenting the absurdity of their surroundings because, in their state, everything is void of meaning.
But by chance they meet, and they bond, and soon they find that there is purpose.
Sophia Coppola is a personal favorite of mine. She has only made three films so far but all three have been extremely thought-provoking and intelligent, and wildly creative. I love her style, which is unique and visionary. The word auteur is not thrown around carelessly, but I would toss that word in her direction because she has proven with just three movies to have her own distinct and poignant vision.
And the way she works with actors is a dream!
Bill Murray is a great comedian, one who I adore in nearly everything. This performance will go down in history as his greatest achievement. I only wish this had netted him the Oscar (much better than Penn's hammy victory) for his performance is so rich with meaning and depth. He really understood how to use his unique brand of deadpan humor to create a man who is very real and very personable. Don't even get me started on Scarlett Johansson's lack of an Oscar nomination here, for in my opinion she gave THE PERFORMANCE OF 2003. She matches Murray scene for scene, but the natural flourishes she adds to her scenes elevate her slightly above him in my opinion. Just watch the way she adds a flinch or a chuckle here and there, adding color and individuality to such a beautifully fleshed out character.
There are few films that can reach this level of earnest beauty. One recent film that comes very close is `Once'. You walk away feeling this inner warmth and the only word I can use to describe it is `pure'; `Lost in Translation' is very, very pure.
Movie Review: One of the most under-rated films ever
Summary: 5 Stars
...P>A few years ago one of Britain's veteran movie critics quit the job for good. It wasn't - he said - that he needed to retire, but he felt that with most of the big movies from Hollywood that year being either based on comic books, or being sequels, or being utterly adolescent, it seemed that Hollywood just was not interested in making movies for people like him.He should have waited. If he had seen "Lost in Translation" he would have realized that someone at least is still interested in making mature intelligent movies for mature intelligent people (no matter how much it infuriates others). In fact some have been doing so for a long time, but they've been doing so in Europe (and even Korea) rather than the United States.
"Lost in Translation" has been compared to David Lean's film of Noel Coward's "Brief Encounter" more than a few times, and it's a good comparison. If you are a knowledgeable enough movie-goer to know what that film is, and to like it, there is a good chance you will like this one, even though it modernises the whole issue. I sincerely doubt that most of those marking this movie down either know or truly appreciate more thoughtful cinema like David Lean's early romance.
Like "Brief Encounter" "Lost in Translation" is about two people in indifferent marriages who meet, and who form a bond. Unlike "Brief Encounter" we're not immediately sure that it is a romantic bond. Also unlike "Brief Encounter" both characters are jet-lagged and generally not quite sure of the direction of their lives. There is an age difference. And it takes place in a land that is strange to both people.
One of the great advantages of that is that the marriages are shown more obliquely, often by telephone calls or fax messages, and we're left to focus on the main characters Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) and Bob (Bill Murray).
Scarlett Johansson gives a subtle and mature performance as Charlotte. She's been around in movies since 1994, and was terrific when the role allowed, in "The Horse Whisperer", "Ghost World", "The Man Who Wasn't There", and - more recently in "Girl with a Pearl Earring". She is excellent here as a young woman who is discovering that her husband is a rather more shallow (and fame blinded) individual that she once thought. Witness the scene where he criticises her for pointing out that Evelyn Waugh was a man.
Bill Murray as the aging actor Bob, in Tokyo for a Suntory TV ad and photo shoot, gives one of his best performances ever. I can't say it surprises me as much as it surprised some. He already showed his ability to go further than mindless comedy in several movies, including "Tootsie", "The Razor's Edge", "Groundhog Day", "Mad Dog and Glory" , "Ed Wood", "Rushmore" and "The Royal Tenenbaums". I have long loved him even in his more comedic roles, such as "Scrooged" too, and he was the ONLY thing that made "Ghostbusters" worth sitting through. Expect to see him here in the more serious of those roles.
So these two meet. And they begin to warm to one another against the backdrop of a country whose rules and customs and language are strange to them. And, both facing crises, they find in one another some hope, some indication of how to come to terms with or change their lives. They also have to face the question of what they can mean to one another, and the movie resolves that in a particularly grown-up way that seems to annoy the heck out of some viewers.
Sofia Coppola has made a very different film here from "The Virgin Suicides". Her script is perhaps a little slight, but that works well for the material. If you have much intelligence many things do not need to be put into words. In fact, that's the hallmark of a film that works, as film, rather than as visualised writing. And she's magnificently aided and abetted, who - if the DVD is to be believed - achieved spectacularly beautiful results in a very short filming time. It looks almost unlit, but it IS lit subtly.
I guess that stands for the whole movie. It looks like a slice of life, but it is pointed up, subtly. For those with the ability to recognise this, and the emotional maturity to identify with, or understand the characters, it is well worth every single ounce of the praise it has been receiving.
Movie Review: This Is A Great Movie - But Not For All..
Summary: 5 Stars
For some inexplicable reason,when this movie was in the theaters, I had very little desire to see it and decided to pass on it.
When it was eventually, released on DVD, I still passed on it whenever I saw an available copy in the new releases section.
The other night, while flipping through channels, I came across it on one of the movie channels I get on cable. I was about to switch channels when I decided for whatever reason to give it a couple of more minutes.
Those couple of minutes rapidly turned into the entire movie and I can't recall when I have seen a movie - without action or drama or special effects - that I enjoyed so much as Lost In Translation.
Sofia Coppola's Lost In Translation is a wonderful story about the very special bond that develops between two very different people who happen to be in Tokyo.
Bill Murray gives a stand out performance and maybe the best of his career as an aging American movie star who is in Tokyo - instead of doing a meaningful play somewhere else - to film a television commercial, which will pay him $2.0 million.
Scarlett Johanssen is a young married woman - she was 18 or 19 playing a woman in her early 20's - who has accompanied her photographer husband -Giovanni Ribisi - to Tokyo. He's there to film a music video and Scarlett, because her husband is busy working, is essentially left to her own devices to pass the time.
Lost In Translation tells the story of the meeting and relationship, which develops between these two very different people. However, it is told in such an honest and life-like way that we forget we're actually watching a movie. What we see on the screen developing between these too characters is very special and the viewer comes to know and like these characters. In fact, you almost wish this movie wouldn't end.
I had heard the "hype" about Scarlett Johanssen - the "It" girl and perhaps that factor alone is what initially put me off about this movie. Normally, I am very skeptical about this type of label and rarely does the individual actually live up to the expectations the media creates.
However, in this instance, every wonderful accolade that is bestowed upon her is well deserved. She is enchanting as this neglected wife who is a recent graduate in philosphy ("alot of dough in that racket" as Bill wonderfully remarks to her..!). Her expressive eyes and wonderful and spontaneous laugh are so real and so evocative that it's impossible not to be drawn to her character. I find that she is able to convey more feeling with just a look or smile than most actresses can with an encyclopedia of script.
And you can't say enough good things about Bill Murray, who plays this world-weary and throughly likeable middle aged man who's been married for a quarter of a century to a woman. Throughout the movie, Bill will call his wife and you get a real sense that the passion and excitement of his marriage has long disappeared. His telephone conversations with his wife are very short and she seems to have very little interest in her husband's stay in Tokyo. it's no wonder that he finds himself drawn to this kindred spirit - Scarlett - who is half his age.
I'm pleased that Sofia didn't succumb to the cliche to develop a sexual relationship between these two. There was, of course, real affection and trust between them, however, you sense that their relationship is far too special to sacrifice it for a "roll in the hay".
Since that intial viewing, I have seen this movie several times on my cable movie network and I find myself drawn to it like a moth to the flame.
This is a very rare and special movie and after having seen it, I now understand why this movie was almost universally hailed as a tour-de-force by the critics.
For anybody interested in human behaviour and interaction - which should be us all, it should be mandatory viewing.
A very special film and one that I would not hsitate to recommend / buy.
Movie Review: Woosh!
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, that was the sound of a movie going right over the heads of many. And no matter how much they say they "get" it, they clearly did not. If it didn't have anything for you, that's fine, but why the level of bile for a movie that clearly held much for millions? Whereas negative criticism of "Titanic" when it came out launched jihads against the critic, it seems to be praise that launches the jihads this time.I see one negative reviewer call it immature (in a second - or more - negative review of it) and then compare it to the "success" of "Rambo", "Bad Boys II", and "Die Hard".
Well if any of those are one's idea of "mature" movies it's really not hard to see why some of us are critical of the general US (and even world) audience's level of "maturity". Granted they ARE about as "mature" as the MTV love story of "Titanic". So if those are indicative of your taste, then rent or buy them. Small honest independent movies like "lost in Translation" aren't going to be upsetting the apple-cart and dominating the movie industry any time soon, so the world is quite safe for mindlessness.
And please don't lump today's commercial nonsense together with the great movies of the thirties or forties. In those days scripts more often made sense and weren't just formulaic pieces. "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" or "White Heat" were masterpieces of maturity compared to today's action films. "Die Hard" is such formula there has to be a "resolution" for everyone, no matter how unlikely. "First Blood" had some merit, but every Rambo film after that was as adolescent as you could get. And "Bad Boys" (I & II) were just the apotheosis of commercials as movie making, and immature cop-outs at that (and were less brave or subversive - despite their attempts at looking cool - than Billy Wilder's "Kiss Me Stupid".)
I see some criticising the hype over a fine small film like "Lost in Translation", and then defending movies, and an industry that - they proudly say - has dominated world cinemas... MOSTLY with hype, AND a marketing juggernaut.
Language advantages and a large captive audience that can make it profitable even to make garbage are a large part of the Hollywood advantage. So is US trade clout which has pushed to have movies labelled as industrial product rather than cultural product. And doesn't that make the mainstream Hollywood attitude clear enough! Maybe LIT is for people who still believe film is, or can be, a cultural product.
Yes, "Lost in Translation" has got audience's bums on seats too. And outside of the US it has been sold on very little hype.
It's unproductive, inconsistent, and illogical to claim worldwide box-office as the ultimate judge of success and then claim all those who love this film and have made it make dozens of times its budget are wrong.
Coppola, working within the Hollywood system, has made a movie that reminds me of the best of earlier movies. You can do this, get this degree of freedom, if you keep your budget low enough. As you go up the ladder budget-wise the pressure to create immature action or comedy garbage only builds.
Truffaut, early in his career, liked CLASSY American directors like Ford and Boetticher. NOT every schlock-meister out there. He went on to make films in a quite different mould and films that found a wide audience despite Hollywood's economic clout. Just as "Lost in Translation" is finding its audience with people who do not think maturity is defined by "Rambo", "Die Hard" or "Bad Boys II"
I couldn't have said it better myself, but I will. "Lost in Translation" is for those of us who don't regard "Rambo", "Die Hard", "Bad Boys II". "Titanic" or "American Pie" as mature film-making, and I bless Coppola for it.
Movie Review: "I'm trying to organize a prison break..."
Summary: 5 Stars
"Lost in Translation" is a moving film filled with light humor and heart. It has comedic and dramatic elements to it, and the two play together beautifully. The film is definitely one of those that people will either love it or hate it; take it or leave it, etc. Either way, it is a film that easily stays in your head after it is long over.Bob Harris is currently in Tokyo to shoot a whisky commercial. He was once a movie star but is now reduced to doing product endorsements. It's easy to see that he isn't the most pleased with how things have gone in his life--but at the same time, he doesn't seem very regretful or overly depressed. One night in a bar, he meets a young lady by the name of Charlotte, who's also visiting in Tokyo due to her workaholic husband who's doing some photo shoots there. Bob and Charlotte connect with one another in very little time and a unique bond of friendship is formed.
Whether the connection will be a short-lived or a long-term relationship is besides the point, but what is the point is those little connections we make on a daily basis and how much of a profound effect they can have on us. Like the characters and the story, the film is superbly subtle and low-keyed. The end result is a very entertaining and well-made film. Bill Murray is outstanding as Bob Harris; knowing how to be comedic without ever breaking character. I can now see why he won a Golden Globe for his performance and am happy that he has also received an Academy Award nomination (which he really deserves, I think). Scarlett Johansson is an absolute joy to watch in her portrayal of the sweet and confused "Charlotte." And even though we may not see much of him in the film, I must say that Giovanni Ribisi does a great job as being Charlotte's husband who appears to be more in love with his work than her.
The movie is extremely well-directed and well-written by Sofia Coppola. What stands out especially the writing, as the conversations flow and sound real, and do not appear artificial to our ears. Coppola is great at making us see these characters as real human beings rather than fictional film characters. She really establishes what she wants in her film and how she plans to achieve it. I also love how she chose Japan as the setting for this movie, as it is very easy for one to feel "lost" as the characters do.
Not only is the film a great viewing, but the DVD package is quite impressive as well. It may not have as many "bells and whistles" as most DVDs do, but it really doesn't need all of that (however, I would've liked a commentary track with Coppola and Murray). Extras included are a Behind-the-Scenes documentary, extended and deleted scenes, a conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola featurette, a music video and more. The best feature is an extended scene of Bob's appearance on an over-the-top Japanese talk show. It is outrageously hilarious, and I encourage everybody to check it out as soon as the movie is over. A downfall of the DVD is the annoying commercials at the beginning that you cannot skip, but have to fast-forward the whole thing if you desire to go straight to the menu. I thought we were beyond this once we went from VHS to DVDs. Apparently, I was wrong. Still, not a shady DVD package, if you want my honest opinion.
"Lost in Translation" is a superbly done film filled with humor and a number of profound little moments. The movie is well-directed, well-written, and well-acted. There's always a chance of you not liking the movie, but that's not a dangerous chance to take. If you let hype consume you, then you will most likely be disappointed. If you're willing to be open-minded and not make any judgments until the end credits, then the chances of you enjoying the film increases greatly. A very nice and subtle movie that has more to it than what the eye simply sees. -Michael Crane