Lost in Translation (2003) Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6iVPCRflQM

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

When you’re feeling a bit lonely, it’s the perfect time to find a friend.


PLOT


Lost in Translation follows burnt out American movie star Bob Harris who visits Tokyo for a lucrative whiskey advertisement. As he stays at the Park Hyatt Tokyo, he is also in the midst of a midlife crisis, feeling miserable of his 25 year marriage back at the United States. Also at the hotel is Charlotte, a Yale graduate in philosophy accompanying her husband John (Giovanni Ribisi) who works as a celebrity photographer. Her time in Tokyo has made her feel disenchanted and anxious on her future, especially when running into Hollywood actress Kelly (Anna Faris) who gushes over a past photography session with John. Charlotte and Bob cross paths a few times in the hotel before eventually meeting officially at the hotel bar. They get along when sharing the feeling of being jet lagged and culture shock. Days after, she would invite him to experience the city nightlife and do karaoke together while John does an assignment outside Tokyo. They continue keeping in touch when Bob takes her to a hospital for a minor foot injury and they go out in another case of the nightlife. Afterwards, they’d share sake together at the hotel and they express uncertainties in their marriages. When Bon later has an argument with his wife on the phone, he tries to get the negativity off his mind by sleeping with the jazz singer from the hotel bar. Charlotte overhears their affair and things would be intense between them at lunch, but they later reconcile when Bob reveals he’ll be leaving soon. When he checks out of the hotel, he does say goodbye to her sincerely, but it doesn’t satisfy either of them. As he takes a taxi to the airport, he sees her amongst the crowded street and decides to walk to her real quick. When he does, he embraces her and whispers something in her. The film would then end with Bob kissing Charlotte goodbye before officially departing.


THOUGHTS


There are so many films that have grown to stand the test of time and it’s no exception here because Sofia Coppola crafts a story in her sophomore feature that just gets to you in so many ways. You can call it a comedy for relating to the culture shock any American would feel in Japan. I mean it’d be hard not having a language barrier between an escort and a director. For the most part however, this is a romantic drama with a twist because Coppola teaches how connection can come from anywhere, especially when isolated. And when that becomes a factor, the connection you build with new people can help embrace vulnerability, that’ll in turn inspire the case of self discovery that can be missing for few. With Lance Acord’s cinematography making Tokyo a stunning country, we’re able to follow two leads who become in their given time together. Bill Murray & Scarlett Johansson are one of their dynamic duos you never thought would come to fruition until it happens, and boy do they have surreal chemistry. The latter shows off Charlotte to be adventurous despite being wistful because she constantly pushes to make the best of her time trying new things whenever she feels inspired. As for the former in his only Oscar nominated performance, Bob is relatable for his age making him quite jaded where he is. Both of them are not trying to complain of their time there since they know it’s a once in a lifetime experience being in Japan, but they just to have more meaning while they’re here and they get that when they meet. The similar feeling of isolation brings them together and while they’re not planning to leave their spouses behind, they just want to feel a connection and it pays off when they go out together. Bob cheats with the jazz singer because that’s how severe the emptiness was getting to him and Charlotte visibly disapproved because she knows just as much as him that his wife doesn’t deserve that betrayal. Things were platonically intimate between them, but she too felt betrayed because she knew he didn’t have to do that when he could’ve just kept talking to her how he was feeling as they already have at that point. Their heart to heart as when lying in bed together was a great acting lesson because even though they’re not smiling, they’re relieved to talk to someone over sharing similar inner feelings and you feel it as they speak. Bob’s goodbye is indeed tough to watch because although it was inevitable, he knows he’ll never meet anyone as special as Charlotte and she’ll be mentally alone since she won’t connect with her husband the way she did with him. Whatever he said to her in that whisper before kissing her goodbye, I like to believe they were words of optimism otherwise their time together would’ve been all for nothing. In short, Lost in Translation is one of the best 2000s movies for inspiring me and many viewers to find new friends in order to keep life all the more exciting as it goes on, earning the Best Picture nominee in the process. If that is the kind of movie you’re looking for, see this now.