December
22
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Lost in Translation (2010)
Like with all films, your reactions to Lost in Translation (2010) will depend on how your own life journey is unfolding.The acting is so nuanced and expressive, that we the viewers can simultaneously be the boy and the girl in this poignant love story that is framed entirely by what did not happen and the haunting possibilities that were left unexplored.
Spanning a fatherly age barrier, two people find in each other an almost palpable loneliness made more so by being isolated from the often strange cultural customs of frenetic Tokyo. Both married to others, she is beautiful (as Scarlett Johansson is) and he is old-school funny (in a Bill Murray way). Through chance encounter and to relieve boredom, they go to the edge of flirting with the possibility of physical connection but neither acknowledges that game and both stay safe within the rules of a passing platonic friendship.
This film is an exquisite tease, not between the two stars, but between the film and the viewer. We sense possibilities that might transcend age and other lines of defence if only we let go. It also shows how life can randomly and briefly offer the gift of hope which dissolves, like a puff of smoke, as we turn away. This is a wonderfully crafted film, but unsettling in its ability to leave you yearning.
Director: Sofia Coppola
Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson
CineMuseFilms 
I agree entirely, and i love the length of this review – not too long,and i often find reviewers spend too long explaining the whole plot. A couple of things that really spoke to me in this film: The platonic relationship. Besides the fact that its just refreshing for a film to have a male and female relationship without ‘the sex scene’, for me it just revealed a kind of higher beauty about the relationship. Secondly, the ending…In the final goodbye scene, there was no desperate plea to stay, no attempt for them to run away together, no heavy tears. It was graceful. This year in particular, i’ve realised that letting go is probably the hardest part about the human experience, and one i’ve been trying to address. And seeing these characters do so in the manner they did, really made me feel strongly. Im off to Japan in Feb, and i’ve got a few days in Tokyo. I’ll send a picture.
Nick.
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Thanks Nick; letting go of what is there is hard, but letting go what could have been is harder because it means letting go of hope.
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. . . shows how life can randomly and briefly offer the gift of hope which dissolves, like a puff of smoke, as we turn away. A decade or so I boarded a early evening flight at a snowbound airport. There was a question of whether or not we would actually be able to takeoff. The person who was seated next to me and I struck up a conversation as we waited. The conversation continued all the way to Seattle. As we landed, she asked if I were continuing on to Anchorage. I said, “No, I get off here.” She smiled and said, “That’s too bad; we could have spent a wonderful evening together.” As we were walking down the jet way after departing the plane, she turned, smiled, and waved goodbye before vanishing in the crowded terminal. I went down the escalator to baggage claim. Lost in Translation?
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Thats beautiful! I guess we have all been there. Thanks for dropping by.
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I haven’t seen it, and I should do. I’ll be back when I have. – Esme of Cloud fame.
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Its a classic Esme; you must see it.
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