Lost in Translation

Rating

Director

Sofia Coppola

Screenplay

Sofia Coppola

Length

102 min.

Starring

Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris

MPAA Rating

R (For some sexual content)

Review

A brief glance in an elevator brings two lonely married people together in Focus Features’ Lost in Translation.

There are few directors in the span of history who will be remembered for their significant achievements. Executive producer Francis Ford Coppola is one. His works great achievements include the classic films Apocalpyse Now and The Godfather trilogy. Now, his latest great achievement has burst onto the filmmaking scene. Daughter Sofia Coppola has made this deep and moving motion picture that examines the delicate relationship between an aging actor and an impatient newlywed. Lost in Translation is a conventionally-packaged film with an unconventional story.

Bill Murray amazes the audience with a brilliant performance as washed up actor Bob Harris whose career has taken a nose dive and is now in Japan to film commercials for Suntory-brand liquor. "It’s Suntory Time" is the phrase he must utter falsely as a non-English-speaking crew watches his every move. In one of the film’s funniest moments, the director speaks to Bob only in Japanese while a translator stands by to interpret his words. The stark contrast creates a humorous dichotomy of speech and founds the backbone of the title and its incurring meaning.

Scarlett Johansson plays Charlotte the two-years-married wife of an American photographer on a location shoot in Tokyo. Her days are spent wistfully staring out her hotel room window at the traditional big city landscape in a country where her culture and language are virtually foreign. Johansson is startling in her ability to convey deep emotions without uttering a word. Her loneliness is as unbearable for her as it is for the audience. When she finally meets fellow American Bob Harris, her body language shifts towards elation while in his presence and then back to loneliness and loss when he’s away.

Lost in Translation is Coppola’s third directorial effort and fourth writing credit. Her work speaks for itself. This story is one of lost understanding and found love. We find two individuals disparate in lives but brought together by boredom and the simple commonality of being American. It isn’t hard to see that the film is of a high caliber. The design elements, editing, cinematography and music, are all extremely traditional and typical of an independent film but it’s the message behind the film and the terrific performances that make it a success. We find ourselves hoping for emotional success between Bob and Charlotte. We watch them from scene to scene developing an amazing attraction for one another that we know cannot last but watch excitedly to see if it does. Coppola’s vision is singular and universal at the same time. It has a deep emotion that surfaces effectively on the big screen.

Lost in Translationcarries the label independent but by all means that’s a good thing. So many major Hollywood releases are ignorant and devoid of great character development. Films like this help the audience realize that there are movies out there that can lift the spirit and tell a story that feels real. It helps us understand that the people we see are just as human as we are and it makes us feel comforted by their successes and failures.

Review Written

December 15, 2003