October 20, 2003 -- “Lost in Translation” is a slight, bittersweet comedy about lonely, directionless people lost in a strange land. It is one of those little character study films in which not much happens, but you get to know the characters. It is dark and slow moving, but not, thank goodness, as dark, depressing and pointless as “The Virgin Suicides,” the other famous film directed by Sofia Coppola.

I saw this film in a Fort Collins, Colorado theater on Saturday with a modest crowd of people, attracted, no doubt as I was, by the presence of Bill Murray (“The Royal Tenenbaums”) in the film. One guy said after the show was over “What the hell was that all about?” I'll tell you. Bill Murray stars as Bob Harris, a sort of washed up movie star making a whisky commercial in Tokyo. There, he meets another insomniac in the hotel bar, a young woman named Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson of “Eight-Legged Freaks”). Charlotte is stuck in Tokyo waiting for her workaholic husband John (Giovanni Ribisi of “Basic”) to finish an exhausting photo assignment. The background of Tokyo is an incredibly alien environment. They might as well have been on another planet.

Since they are among the few English-speaking westerners in the hotel, Charlotte and Bob spend some time together and become friends, Platonic lovers, really. At first they are honest with each other because they are strangers. Later, their relationship changes. Charlotte confesses to Bob that she feels lost in her own life. She has tried various things, writing, photography, etc., but nothing really appeals to her. She is looking for, as philosopher Joseph Campbell would put it, her “bliss,” that avocation which gives her life purpose. Bob is also adrift in his own life, but he shares what insights he can with her. He tells her that marriage is hard and it gets harder with children, but that children are wonderful. He advises her to keep writing.

Bob is charmingly honest, detached and sad. This odd relationship seems to impart energy to both of these lonely people. In the end, they are both still lonely, but they seem more energized and they have more hope than when they first met. It is as if half or more of their loneliness has melted away, leaving them closer to the heart of life. It is what love does to people. There is a price to pay, of course. It is the pain of parting. The sweet sorrow of parting is drawn out in an extended scene of tender, bittersweet, almost sublime passion near the end of the film. Bob is not exactly innocent, however, he is as world weary, jaded and as morally loose as one would expect of an old movie star. At the same time, he has a kind of irresistible languid charm. This character is a wonderful creation of a unique actor. It is hard to imagine anyone else but Bill Murray carrying this off.

Murray and Johansson are both perfect in their performances. They are both utterly charming and vulnerable. They seem very open and honest. They have great chemistry together. As a character study, the film works very well. We feel like we know these people. As a romance or drama, however, the film covers very little emotional ground. It is nearly inert. If this movie was a patient, you'd be hard pressed to pick up a heartbeat. You'd be tempted to get the paddles out and try to shock it back to life. The film is very charming and amusing in places, but not really very funny. It is more an uneven mixture of understated and overstated comedy. It is partially romantic, but we get the feeling that when the film is over, the characters really haven't changed all that much. It ends only a little distance from where it started. I was reminded of the lyrics of an old song, “Is that all there is to love?” This film rates a B, mostly because of the two great leading performances.

Click here for links to places to buy or rent this movie in video and/or DVD format, or to buy the soundtrack, posters, books, even used videos, games, electronics and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

Copyright © 2003 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.

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