Review 394: Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation is

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is an ageing who travels to Tokyo, Japan to film a whiskey commercial, while Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is a collage graduate who's tagging along with her workaholic husband, John (Giovanni Rabisi) who works as photographer.
Unable to sleep, Bob and Charlotte cross paths one night in the luxury hotel bar.
This chance meeting soon becomes a surprising friendship as they venture through Tokyo, having often hilarious encounters with its citizens and ultimately discover a new belief in life's possibilities.

The plot is

For a film in which not a whole lot happens and essentially amounts to a travelogue of Japan, Sofia Coppola manges to pack in a lot of development for Bob and Charlotte's relationship

Over the course of the film, several things, including the two lead characters, are "lost in translation". On a basic level, Bob and Charlotte are lost in the alien Japanese culture. But in addition, they are lost in their own lives and relationships. Bob's marriage is strained as he's going through a midlife crisis and Charlotte is a collage student who is uncertain of her future which is further complicated when John starts going with another woman named Kelly (Anna Farris). A feeling that is amplified by their displaced location which leads to their budding relationship and growing connection between each other.
In a more literal sense, during a scene where Bob is on set for filming the whisky commercial, the director gives several lengthly, improvised directives in Japanese which are invariably followed by brief, incomplete translations from the interpreter. Moreover, both are sleepless from the change in time zone, choosing to cope with their wakefulness by making late-night visits to the hotel's bar. 

Loneliness: Sofia Coppola has described this film as a story about "things being disconnected and looking for moments of connection. In a cultural sense, Bob and Charlotte are disorientated by feelings of jet lag and culture shock as a result of travelling to Japan.

 

What's fascinating about this film is its resistance to any particular genre 

Director Sofia Coppola's direction is sensitive and precise. Her staging of shots is just remarkable; sationary shots are frequently used to help convey Bob's sense of isolation

The scenery is breathtaking, the Tokyo, Japan setting is simply stunning, the cinematography is gorgeous, making excellent use of natural lighting to capture the beauty and otherworldly feel of Japan. The soundtrack is beautiful, lovely and enigmatic, the production design is brilliant, the costumes are colourful, the

The acting is superb, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson are magnificent in this film.
Bob knows that it could be dangerous to become to close to Charlotte, but on the other hand, he is lonely and knows that having an affair with her would be easy.

Giovanni Rabisi & Anna Faris show up in smaller supporting

5/5.

The Anonymous Critic.