Lost in Translation

Sophia Coppola's film, Lost in Translation is one of the rare films that come along and truly depict human interaction. Most of us are used to fairy-tale endings or tragedies. Either the main character fall in love, grow up, get married, and live happily ever after or they meet, fall madly in love, and then one or both of them die before they're even close to getting married. We are also all used to the wild and crazy adventures that people in movies find themselves them: they are either involved in some outrageous scheme or involved in some wild, hot affair or something else completely ridiculous.

Lost in Translation is completely different. It tells the story of Bob Harris played by Bill Murray and Charlotte played by Scarlett Johanson. These two characters are both in a very lonely and desperate place. Bob is a famous actor who has had to leave his family to make commercials in Tokyo. Charlotte is a young woman living with her husband of two years in Tokyo. Her husband is a famous photographer who has to leave her alone while he goes on business trips. Both Charlotte and Bob are alone, in a strange place, with no one to talk to and no one to connect with. So the two of them form a strong bond after the meet in the bar of the hotel where they are both staying. The movie shows how their bond grows over time and how the two become closer and closer to each other and closer and closer to falling in love.

*SPOILER* But nothing happens. They don't have any kind of affair, at least not physically and they don't have some kind of fantastic adventure. They just meet, talk, and then they leave. It's just so realistic it's incredible. Sometimes, I think, movies get to bogged down with all the adventure and glitz and glam. But Lost in Translation is something that could happen and it's something that probably has happened many, many times in real life. And that's what made it incredible.

Lost in Translation was also amazing because of an underlying metaphor. The phrase lost in translation refers to so many different aspects of the film. The obvious aspect of the film that the title refers to is the language barrier between the main character and the Japanese speaking people. Another aspect of the film that the title refers to is the barriers built between the main characters and their spouses. Both seem to have trouble communicating their desires to their spouses which causes trouble in their relationships. The third aspect of the film the title refers to is a barrier between the audience and the characters. In the final scene of the film, Bill Murray's character whispers something to Charlotte and the audience cannot understand what he says. Many of speculated about what the actual line may be but I don't think that it is really important. The ambiguity of the final scenes is open to interpretation which leaves the viewers intrigued and keeps with the realism of the film. In real life, things are not black and white and sometimes we just don't know what's going to happen. And that's what happen in the film. Because we cannot understand that line, we just don't know what's going to happen to the two characters in the future and we can only guess at what may come for the two of them.

Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanson both do a remarkable job at portraying their characters. Johanson portrays Charlotte as calm and collected. Her depiction of Charlotte's sadness and loneliness is beautiful and truly works as does Murray's depiction of Bob's sadness and loneliness. It appears that both actors truly dig deep within themselves and must use some of their own emotions to portray their character so realistically. Anna Faris also appears in a small role and is hilarious as usual.

Lost in Translation is an incredibly enjoyable film. It is a deep and emotional film that will stick with you long after seeing it.

-H