Lost in Translation
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Movie Reviews of Lost in Translation
Movie Review: I wish all films were like this.
Summary: 5 Stars
So often films are superfluous, just a piece of entertainment - fine for the normal movie-goer, but dull for the real film enthusiast. This film is not like that. Sofia Copolla tenderly builds the characters in this movie by allowing the audience to really watch them, not by steering the audience around a flashy, effects-laden script, giving brief glimpses of the characters at the `normal' 30 shots per minute, but by actually giving us time to get to know the characters.There are a multitude of shots that are there just to show you the loneliness and isolation of the situation and a lot of times the camera just waits around showing the characters lying down, not doing anything, the length of these shots feel almost voyeuristic, but that, I suppose, is the intention. The characters are not just players helping the story along, but they actually *ARE the story* It feels almost trite to say so, but the film really is about the emotions of these characters rather than the actual things that happen to them.
In most films the actors play a role and they are paid to make us believe that they are the characters they are portraying. Congratulations to them when they do it, it tends to be a good movie. But I can honestly say that there are few movies that actually make you really *care* about the characters, that is a mark of a truly GREAT film. This is one of those few. It wasn't long into watching the film that I realised that I was feeling a bit of their loneliness, but halfway through I felt almost helpless. I felt as if I was a bad friend to them, that they needed someone to show them that people cared for them, just a hug would have helped, but I couldn't give that to them. That is the intensity with which the film carries on, we want them to find each other and to know that they are not alone even in this alien land.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but suffice it to say that as we care for the characters (both are married, although not very happily) we know that they shouldn't have an affair and that what would be best for them is just to have someone to share the loneliness with. We see their relationships with their spouses in fleeting glimpses, but this is because this is all *they* see of them. Their partners' only real crimes are neglect, but in the situation Charlotte and Bob now find themselves in, this is one of the worst things that could happen.
In some ways I could talk about the film for hours (far beyond the 1000 word limit for reviews anyway!), about the shot framing, the texture and colour of the film lending itself to the subdued experiences they face and about the natural (yet at times hilarious and very intelligent) dialogue; but really the only justice I can do this film is by WHOLEHEARTEDLY RECOMMENDING IT!
You really would be missing out by not seeing this film. It is cinema as an art-form, not just as flashy entertainment. But if you are into Big-Budget Blockbusters? then you may not appreciate the subtleties of the performances or the lingering character-shots. It is not really for entertainment, it is an experience. Go, watch it and be touched by it, but be warned, this is a very affecting film about loneliness and solitude and you may not want to see it if you are not ready to share those emotions with the characters for a few hours, I also wouldn't recommend seeing it alone!
That said, this is one of the most powerful films I have seen and as such is definitely one of my favourite films. Make every effort to see this now!
Movie Review: A mirror for people...
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading all these harsh reviews, I found that this film is a mirror for people and their ignorance, or intelligence.a) How is this a movie without a plot?? Thats just INSANE! Two people are separated from normal life. Two people are cloistered and alone, even in their relationships with spouses. The two people slowly meet, again and again. Two people begin to share their lonely lives together. Two people grow fond. two people love, but don't take advantage. Two people seperate, having shared humor, love, regret, lonliness, Tokyo without having fully communicating their love. They meet one last time and open up to each other. Thats not a PLOT??
b) This film seems to give everyone some dumb view point to bash someone in their lives, basically displaying they, the reviewers, are petty, gross, evil people at heart. How is this a movie that gives rise to the ability to bash artsy people, Americans, Japanese, President Bush or anyone? Are you people insane?? The people who like this movie LIKED it, it wasn't a LIFESTYLE choice. It was something that appealed. As for the German guy bashing Americans, thats just rude and dumb. I come from German parents and I understand how sick some German thinking is, but good lord, keep it to your own ignorant self. This is a film that could be about anyone anywhere.
c) Rascist? How is this film rascist? RACIAL maybe....but more culturally skewed and playful then RASCIST. Are the Japanese even a race? Whats is this about? They had fun with cultural differences. I didn't see 'wing wong, slanty eyes!' jokes, or even worse 'Me Japranese! Me brohm Peraw Hawboaawwww'....come on tendloins, get a life.
d) Not funny? Sure, this film isn't what you call a pure American cinema COMEDY, but there is so much light humor going on with the characters and situations that it does have a lot of humor within this well rounded film. It is a drama, romance, comedy film, but its just a really good film. People must go to this film expecting 'HEY! WATCH ME PULL A GOPHER OUTTA MY HOLE!', Bill Murray slamming his genitals in doors, Asian sex jokes, people pratfalling on asian pears, wild eyed goofy takes at the camera, silly outfits, and the obligatory nude scene with the 16 year old being discovered by his parents and hiding his manhood in a pie. This just isn't that. How can you even expect that seeing any of the previews?? People are so ignorant. Look at the poster, look at the cover, look at the previews! Where is this a 'genitals in pie' story??
e) 'Emperor's New Clothes'?? The only person standing out here is the reviewer, showing off as a brazen dunce. While, I expect, people wanted missiles whizzing around, car chases with funny faces and one liners right out of Nickelodeon cartoons, maybe some evil boss Murray and Johannsen must fight to prove their love, this just ISN'T that. Some of my favorite movies of all time are 'Casablanca', 'Evil Dead 2', 'M' and 'Death Wish 3'...I can enjoy anything well done in any genre by anyone and I understand most people can't. But to give this film 1 star??? What is wrong with you. It is beautifully filmed, has some really excellent sequences, makes sense, has a plot, combines a lot of dramatic and humorous elements in writing. People don't even rate some of the all time HORRIBLE movies that were filmed on 16 mm with total lack of story at 1 star.....
What this film really shows is how ridiculous 95 percent of the reviewers are. Naturally, I am not one of them.
Movie Review: Best film of the century...amazingly moving film!
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw this film back in September 2003 and am now posting my original review."Lost In Translation" is the best film of 2003 without a doubt. It is the most original film in years, and Sofia Coppola directs and writes with a perfect artistry. Now, here is a love story that doesn't involve the sheets and messy bed linens that lie around the hotel in the morning, the lovers each wearing robes. It is proof that a film romance can survive without the corny and unnecessary, conventional sex scene. Then again, Bill Murray in that kind of situation would be a little disturbing.
The plot of "Lost in Translation" is simple. That is because it is not a plot-driven film, but it is a character and dialogue driven film. Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, a has-been American movie star staying at a hotel in Tokyo to shoot a Japanese whiskey commercial. His wife and children back at home could care less about him and Bob feels unwanted and lonely. That is, until he meets Charlotte (played by the incredible 18 year-old Scarlett Johansson), the wife of a vain fashion photographer (Ribisi) who is shooting in Tokyo. He is oblivious to his young wife's unhappiness and sadness, and Charlotte is also lost in life. She doesn't know what to be even though she has graduated from Yale in Philosophy. Charlotte and Bob each wander the streets of Tokyo, and the making of the whiskey commercial is hilarious. Neither can sleep and they meet one restless night in the hotel bar, and they instantly click. They do not become passionate lovers, though. The two become friends immediately and take off on adventures in the city, being weary of the hotel. It is obvious that they fall in love, but there is no steamy make out scene and there is no wildly hot sex scene to go along with it. No. The film is perfect without it.
Everything about this film is just so wonderful. Coppola has proven herself to be one of the strongest female women in the directing and writing industry of film. Her last film, "The Virgin Suicides," was also a great film, but this one is even better. Sofia has more control and confidence in her work now. The dialogue is witty, as are the performances. Murray has never been better and breaks his stereotypical image of comedian. Johansson has come out of the dark and will certainly be one of the best actresses in the future. She is already one of the best actresses of this generation, and her performance in this film is literally flawless. There aren't many characters in this film, and I could understand why an audience might be bored and leave the theater. Well, first of all, learn to research into a movie before you waste your hard earned money on purchasing a ticket. Second of all, there is a lot to think and understand about this film. People who don't "get" it do not take much time to really consider and think about it.
The production of this film is interesting and appealing. The look is fantastic, and the cinematography gets the audience right into what is going on in the character's heads. It's so charming. The music is very 80s-like and sets a perfect setting for the film. Tokyo comes to life as it never has before on the screen. I love it!
"Lost in Translation" is a film about loneliness, and isn't depressing and conventional. It completely deserved the Oscar for best picture of the year. "Lost" is totally perfect, and the best film of the year. I didn't even have to think twice about that one.
Movie Review: for those who don't get it
Summary: 5 Stars
The first time I saw this movie I enjoyed it, but things didn't really connect up for me. I was too concerned with where the movie might be going to actually see that it was already there. I now find this film to be brilliant, moving, and uncommon. It establishes it's theme immediately and adds layer after layer as it moves along. You'll read a lot of retellings of plot and descriptions of things people found comical. These are all fine, but, to me, they miss most of what makes this film so special.
Okay, the film starts with a shot of Scarlett Johnasson's [behind]-and I can only guess what that means. But then we cut to a beautifully shot and scored scene in which Bob (Bill Murray) wakes up in a taxicab as it cruises through the brightly lit streets of Tokyo at night. He rubs his eyes, as if waking from a dream (or into one). Amongst the unintelligible (to him) signage, he sees a large billboard of himself: he is somehow an accepted part of this overwhelming landscape. Then we get a close-up of a flashing neon sign with huge Japanese letters, as if it is announcing something absolutely germane to existence. What does it say?! Well, to people who can't read Japanese, it doesn't say anything. That's the point. No matter how urgent or spectacular the presentation, most everything we encounter in life has no inherent meaning. This movie is filled with such images-and the fact that many of them reference the Japanese culture is incidental. Every culture is filled with customs that seem odd or silly to those outside of that culture. (One could easily argue that the present state of American television programming is just as absurd as the weird stuff that's on Japanese TV in the film!)
Amidst this landscape we have Bob and Charlotte, each trapped in a life that, for them, lacks depth. By that I mean that they are unable at the present time to grasp with confidence onto anything "more than this"-that is, anything more than the surface of existence. They may have the funds to stay in a wonderful hotel, but there is nothing intrinsically wonderful (or terrible) about their lives. Their lives have basic comfort, but little else. There is no joy in their careers, and they are both in marriages that have settled into passionless routine with people whose priorities lie elsewhere.
What Bob and Charlotte recognize in each other is themselves. Charlotte searches for something that she can connect with (religion, tradition, culture, etc.); the film gives us many examples of her observing others going about their daily endeavors with zeal and/or devotion. None of it is the right fit for her. When she meets Bob, she discovers someone who has the same cross to bear, but is much further along in the journey. "Does it get any better?" she asks, and his first instinct is to say, "No." It's this shared burden that makes it so touching when they are half-flirting, half-commiserating, and he sings to her, "Show me one thing more than this... There is nothing."
I'd better cut this short, but let me say that it's no surprise that a lot of the reviewers here have had strong, negative reactions to this film. It's only right that so many should not "get" it; in fact, I'm shocked that the movie has found such a large audience: at its deepest level, this is a movie for those of us who don't "get" most of what goes on in this world.
Movie Review: Unbelievable Performace, Story
Summary: 5 Stars
Lost in Translation is the type of story that you have to sit back and appreciate for the work or art it is. This movie is so masterful in all of its respects, it almost defies explanation. Sofia Coppola is able to tell this story with an adept and skillful manner, so much so that you almost miss how wonderful it is from the get-go. Sometimes it takes two viewings, to catch all of the nuances, the subtleties, the little pieces that make this movie great.
It is the story of Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson)and their finding one another in the midst of the largest city in the world, Tokyo. I won't go into plot details, as that is what the movie is about. Instead, some thematics.
The story revolves around lonliness. The fact that this is the most populous city in the world, and these two Americans are without spouses, without friends goes to show that the lonliness is not mere physical distance, but emotional, cultural, almost spiritual. And in the midst of their crises, these two find each other and bond together to help one another through their lonely times. It is a tale also of finding yourself, getting yourself out of a rut, with their careers and marriages and life in general. But, it is never too late, you can never be too alone, for breaking the cycle and trying something new. Together they break-out, investigating Tokyo together and finding renewed viggor for their own lives.
They are also together in a way that two people do not usually share. Bob is old enough to be Charlotte's father, yet there is a bond there that is almost like love, but never really defined. Something beyond friendship (as is evident when Bob sleeps with the lounge singer), but they never consumate their marriage physically, which is a relief. Yet you can feel the connection between them, even when they are standing outside of a hotel at 3am during a fire alarm. There is a bond there, something unique, wonderful as it is indescribable. This relationship propels both of them forward into their lives, leaves them both smiling at the end of the movie.
This is what has to be Bill Murray's best performance ever, Oscar-worthy if there ever was an acting role that deserved a golden statue. What makes his role so beautifully poignant is that it is very subtle. He doesn't cry a lot, he doesn't yell or scream, a lot of the time he doesn't even say much at all. Yet it is in the way his body, his smile, his eyes, it is how these facets of his personality manifest the inner emotions that make the role great. When he is shaving, and he holds up the tiny, plastic razor looking in the mirror, his face sums up his entire situation, without the need for words.
Similarly, Scarlett Johansson is remarkable, also for her subtle way of portraying the quarter-life crisis Charlotte. From her body language, the way she moves, or even just sits and looks out over Tokyo, evokes her mood and gives us a glimpse of her inner emotions, more-so than her husband can appreciate.
This movie is very understated, and I feel underrated. It gives just dazzling performances from two very talented actors, and it tells a tale that is wonderful as it is instructive and uplifting all the same time. I whole-heartedly recommend this film to everyone, especailly if you are feeling a bit lonely.