Lost in Translation

LOST IN TRANSLATION
MOMENTUM PICTURES
RELEASED 9 January 2004
After the promise of her debut feature ‘The Virgin Suicides’, director Sofia Coppola’s second film focuses on two guests at a Tokyo hotel – middle-aged actor Bob (Bill Murray), who is on the career downward spiral, deciding to swallow his pride and film Japanese whiskey commercials, and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), the young wife of a fashion photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) who always seems to be out on a shoot, but thinks everything’s okay because he constantly tells Charlotte he loves her. When Bob isn’t taking unclear direction from loud Japanese directors who want him to pretend he’s in the ‘Rat Pack’, he’s receiving faxes about exactly which type of red to decorate a room with from his emotionally distant wife. Left alone in her hotel room, Charlotte doesn’t even have the gumption to drag herself away from the window overlooking Tokyo’s cityscape. So late one night when only the night owls are up, the two meet in the hotel bar, striking up an unusual friendship as much out of interest as boredom. Together they explore Tokyo and find out things abou themselves they perhaps didn’t know before.
Featuring some of the best comedy moments of 2004, the most promising actress of the year in Scarlett Johansson, and the best comedy performance of the year from Bill Murray (only bettered by ‘Groundhog Day’), ‘Lost in Translation’ has nothing to dissuade you from seeing it. A dream-like quality envelopes the duo’s adventures in Tokyo, the sense of dislocation allowing them to let themselves go more than they would in America, like youngsters on a 18-30 holiday. Bill Murray not only gets to make us laugh like only he can, there is also a wonderful poignancy in his act, somewhat like a sad clown. He is perfectly matched by Scarlett Johansson, who lights up the screen with her charm, intelligence, and winning smile. ‘Lost in Translation’ is a wonderful movie whose reputation will surely increase in stature as the years go by.
FOUR OUT OF FIVE