Lost in Translation (2003)

Director: Sofia Coppola
Story: Sofia Coppola
Cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson 
Music: Brian Reitzell, Kevin Shields, Roger Joseph Manning Jr., Air
Time: 102 minutes
Bottom-line: So subtle in so many aspects that you, as a normal viewer, hardly feel anything

There are two reasons as to why I wanted to watch Lost in Translation: one, because Bill Murray stars in it; and two, because many critics had put this film on the ‘best of the year’ lists. Now that I finally watched it, I have to say that it fell short of my expectations. But I guess that’s because I watched the film as a ‘normal viewer’. So what does that mean? Read on...

Bob Harris (Murray) is an aging actor, who is in Japan to film an advertisement. His 25-year-old marriage is lacking in romance, and he is experiencing a midlife crisis. In the same hotel he stays in, there is a young college graduate, Charlotte (Johansson), who thinks that her husband is more interested in a model-actress than he is in her. One night, after a photo shoot, Bob retreats to the hotel bar, where he meets Charlotte. The two start sharing brief encounters in the bar, and soon they get closer to each other. How this unusual bond between the two people – in the backdrop of a foreign country – turns out, forms the rest of the film.  

Bill Murray as Bob Harris

The story portrays a fleeting romance – one that is so subtle that it doesn’t look or feel like one. Now that is what is supposed to make the film a good one – the portrayal of the bond between an actor in his fifties, and a girl in her twenties. The film also explores other themes like loneliness and insomnia, but I didn’t find any so-called ‘exploration’. The ‘adventures’ the two of them have in Japan don’t seem like adventures at all... and though this is supposed to be comic, I perhaps felt it too faint to notice.

But this is one film where not much in shown on screen, but many interpretations can be made. According to other critics, the title comes because of two things – one, because of the fact that when the director of the advertisement instructs Bob in Japanese, the translator gives a very short interpretation i.e. the meaning is lost in translation. The second reason, is because both the characters, Bob and Charlotte, are lost, not only in the foreign city, but are also lost in their lives, because of various matters related to marriage. That is the basic ‘off-screen’ interpretation of the film.

Scarlett Johansson as Charlotte

Bill Murray, as I said, was one of the reasons I watched the film in the first place, and he doesn’t disappoint. This was a tough role to play, for the character is an unusual one. Bob experiences loneliness, and wants a companion, but when it is in the form of a twenty-something girl, he knows that starting a relationship isn’t the right thing. But at the same time, his loneliness causes insomnia and other problems. And seeing Bill Murray in a non-comedy role may seem new, but his performance is nevertheless, brilliant. Scarlett Johansson has also given a splendid performance, and this might be her magnum opus, perhaps second only to her performance in Her. Both Murray and Johansson won the BAFTA awards for Best Actor and Actress respectively, for this film. The one scene which is the highlight of the film is towards the ending, when Bob hugs Charlotte, and whispers something in her ear, which is deliberately inaudible to the audience. What makes it special is that we can interpret what he said, in any way we want. After a brief romance, does Bob say that they will meet again? Does he confess his love for her? We don’t know...

So, Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation is a film which requires a lot of patience to watch, and this film is mainly made for people who have problems with marriage or related stuff. For others, the film may not make much sense (it didn’t to me) but at least you can watch for the acting. In terms of the story, the film is more or less stupid, but the interpretations made by the other critics help to make some sense of the storyline. A bit overrated, but a nice film nevertheless.

My Rating: 3/5
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%