Lost in Translation (2003)

Gympodie

I first seen Lost in Translation about 14 years ago at this stage, and to this very day it is one of a handful of films that have really moved me. I don't know how to explain it, someone once told me that extroverts will hate it, and introverts will love it - and I tend to believe them.

If six years later; Enter the Void was to represent Tokyo negatively, then Lost in Translation would do the opposite here. It is essentially a love letter to Tokyo from Sofia Coppola. The striking neon lights of Tokyo with the juxtaposition of the beauty of the temples. The modernity of Tokyo combines well, with the ancient customs and traditions - to invoke a sense of wonder to the viewer.

The soothing use of music in the film, really adds to the sense of isolation and melancholy (I have listened to this soundtrack for the past ten years). Along with such locations as Joganji Temple, Heian Shrine and the Park Hyatt hotel to name a few being utilized. It is just breathtakingly beautiful. It makes me want to go to Tokyo!

Did anyone else experience this kind of melancholy after watching LIT?

blackbox

It was an absolutely brilliant movie.

I didn't know what it would be like and I was gobsmacked - acting, music, cinematography, mood.

johnny_ultimate

It’s a film that meant a whole lot to me in my teens and 20s - one of those cinema trips that definitely helped change my perspective on the medium for the better. I’ve watched it many times and have even visited the nightclub featured in the film for a mandatory Suntory whiskey. I’ve no doubt plenty of posts in this very forum testifying to my fondness for the film.

But while I still very much like the film, my perspective on it has undoubtedly shifted a bit too in recent years. The comedy segments were always the weakest bit, but the photo shoot and ‘rip my stocking’ scenes definitely make me feel more and more uneasy these days. It’s a film definitely often more interested in making the Japanese characters wacky punchlines rather than actual humans. The Anna Farris character is also so cartoonish it sometimes sucks the air out of a scene - on purpose for sure, but sometimes at odds with the film’s strengths.

Not that there’s anything wrong with focusing on two American characters - a hotel in Tokyo is a perfect setting for a tale of two lost souls meeting. As a ‘romance’ or relationship study, the thing remains pretty immaculate. And Coppola’s vibe-based filmmaking has never been as potent as it is here - gorgeous images, impeccable music cues, and just an intoxicating mood. If some of the film’s cruder aspects give me more pause than they did ten or twenty years ago, the central core of the film - that lovely, elegant story of two people sharing a few days together - remains as rich as ever.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638067#Comment_121638067

Yes, I thought that myself, it made the Japanese look like buffoons in several scenes. What did you think of Tokyo? Is it an accurate portrayal of what Tokyo is like? I was considering visiting there in a few years.

Conall Cernach

Funny enough I would be a bit of an introvert, certainly not an extrovert anyway, and I absolutely despise that film. To quote that great critic Peter Griffin, though he was talking about another film "it insists upon itself." It is mind numbing tosh and I believe Sophie Coppola should have stuck to the acting.

johnny_ultimate

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638344#Comment_121638344

Tokyo is an amazing city, quite unlike anywhere else. LiT a shallow depiction of the city in some ways, though the to be fair is by design - it depicts two people on a flying visit, more getting a whirlwind experience than actually having much time to explore it.

But it gets some things very right. The sequence where Charlotte visits the shrine captures one of the unique elements of visiting Japan - the contrast between the busy, sensory overload of the cities and the serene, beautiful and spiritual spaces of a Kyoto or Kamakura.

sameoldname

While I do think that nowadays a film like that would never have used Japan as a backdrop and there certainly was criticism of how the country and people were portrayed even back when it was released, I do think that it was chosen to accentuate what the main characters were going through internally, as was alluded to by a previous poster.

I think it's trying to portray that to many people who are searching for meaning or connection it can seem that many of the everyday things going on around you can seem absolutely absurd and the things that people concern themselves with completely pointless. Japan being a fairly alien culture to most Westerners is just being used to highlight that IMO, so that we the viewer can share in their feeling of not finding what is going on around them to be relatable or comfortable and to make obvious their sense of isolation.

To be fair to the film, it does portray some of the Japanese characters to be sound. The party at the apartment and the karaoke scene being examples. As mentioned before it doesn't exactly hold back with non-Japanese characters either, like the photographer boyfriend, Bob's carpet sample obsessed wife, the drummer who thinks anyone cares about a drum beat and of course Anna Farris's character.

I've said it before on here but I can understand why people might loathe this film but if you're a person who has ever found themselves in the same headspace as the two leads you'd probably adore it. I'd be in the latter camp. Life is **** absurd...

Decuc500

Love the film and it certainly made a big impression on me at the time. The soundtrack is perfect for the visuals. The film pulls off that trick of being simultaneously melancholic and uplifting.

I actually think Anna Faris is brilliant in it. She represents one of those cringy and annoying American tourists perfectly. I recently watched May, a film she made around the same time as Lost in Translation, and her character is OTT and bonkers in that film as well.

I don't think Coppola has really hit those heights since but On The Rocks has a similar vibe and is great fun.

head82

I remember reading at the time of its release, that Sofia Coppola based the Anna Faris character on Cameron Diaz. Apparently Diaz and Coppolas then boyfriend were up to no good behind her back.

bnt

It's a movie that makes a point of leaving things to the viewer to interpret, most famously the unheard words exchanged at the end. The title works on multiple levels, from the obvious - a rambling speech in Japanese translated to one sentence in English - to the more subtle ways the protagonists don't fully understand what they are experiencing in Japan itself, in the Japanese people they meet (far from a representative sample), and eventually in each other. The hotel isolates them from the city, and Bob's "handlers" isolate him from the people, until he and Charlotte make a break for it, for a while.

Nigel Fairservice

I saw Lost in Translation back in 2003 when I was 19. I saw it with a bunch of lads who all thought is was rubbish. I thought it was one of the best movies I had ever seen. It's like we had been watching 2 different movies. The film really struck a chord with me and it remains a firm favourite of mine to this day.

I saw the movie at a time of change in my life and I loved how the movie addressed themes like detachment and disconnection. Tokyo is an assault on the senses and it heightens Bob and Charlotte’s inability to make sense of the world and connect with those who are meant to be closest to them. Bob and Charlotte manage to find connection and solace in each another. I think it's something most people can relate to eventually at some point in their lives. For me it was my late teen/early 20s.

I always loved the Park Hyatt Hotel as well. I pushed the boat out and stayed there on my last night in Tokyo when I visited last year. I had a swim in the pool and had dinner/drinks in the New York Bar. The bar isn't as big as it seems in the movie. The hotel still looks exactly like it did in the movie!

flasher0030

I saw it when it was released. And I thought it was one of the most boring things I had ever seen. I rewatched it couple of years ago and I actually enjoyed it. It is slow, but I appreciated certain aspects of it that I didn't when I was in my early 20's when I first saw it.

Great soundtrack too.

But Bill Murray was punching way above his weighty with the Scarlett Johansson. I know he didn't actually seal the deal on the movie (at least I don't think they did), in reality, she would have told him to sod off and stop acting like a creep.

SheepsClothing

Remains my favourite film to this day. It captures so well that feeling of meeting someone who you have an innate connection with and how a fleeting shared experience can enrich your life.

The presentation of Japan as both an alien, ultra advanced land, full of neon lights and giant arcades, whilst also existing as the most serene, quietly spiritual place on earth gives the film such a unique feeling of time and place. I drop in every couple of years and just get swept up all over again.

TheIrishGrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121638067#Comment_121638067

Agreed, even at the time, the "Rip my stockings" scene always gave me "Me so solly" vibes. But yeah, it looks so beautiful and really highlights a city I really love.

I went to Tokyo with my niece many years ago. I had been before and knew my way around the subway system quite well (Not as bas as it seems). Anyway, we timed our visit to coincide with as many festivals as possible. The biggest being Sanja Matsuri in Asakusa. I wanted her to see the place BEFORE the 100s of thousands turn up so we went there about 7AM. There were people these setting up etc and we were probably the only westerners there at the time. My niece had dyed bright red hair at the time. This tiny little old woman in traditional outfit (Kimono, tabi, elaborate hair, paper umbrella etc) came up to her. The old lady had her hair bright red also. She starts talking to my niece - Niece had no Japanese, I had minimal Japanese. But she starts with comparing hair colour and then, given her gestures, starts talking about the festival, assuming we were there for it. Shows her her clothes and brings her over to one of the floats (Presumably the one she was involved with) and starts pointing to various aspects of the temple (the foxes with red cravats etc). I basically stepped away, camera down. That was just for them. My niece's little "Lost in Translation" moment.

Gympodie

It seems like nearly everyone in this thread who has see LIT has been in Tokyo 😀

Nigel Fairservice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121665266#Comment_121665266

The movie really made me want to visit back when I was a broke student. It only took me 20 years to make it happen 😀 It's a daft place but I loved it. I lived with 3 Japanese guys in Canada for a time. They were lovely. By far the nicest and most considerate housemates I've had over the years.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121665425#Comment_121665425

That is what I am saying, LIT seems to make people want to visit Tokyo 😀 I first seen it in 2010 and I am still trying to make it happen!😅

McFly85

Was the same for me, one of my favourite films ever and really solidified the idea in my head of seeing Tokyo.

Ive been twice with a third trip planned for next year!

santana75

I saw it when it came out originally and I loved it straight away. The music, the cinematography, the acting, but most of all, the atmosphere, its such a haunting movie, it stays with you and its a film I think about often. And that ending......it was perfect.

McFly85

The soundtrack is absolutely perfect too. The shoegazing/dream pop music against the background noise of Tokyo sort of set the tone of the film wonderfully.

I think I’m going to have to watch it again this weekend.

bnt

Any romance between Bob and Charlotte wasn't going to happen in the conventional sense. He wasn't looking for that from her, and he even spends the night with the singer from the bar. Charlotte's reaction was to be a bit upset at that, but not out of jealousy and not for long. One key scene for me was after they got back to the hotel from the hospital, and we see her resting her injured toe against him, as if he's radiating some kind of healing energy. No need to talk, never mind anything else.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121669819#Comment_121669819

Wow, I am kind of jealous! Did you visit some of the landmarks that were in the film?

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121671205#Comment_121671205

Agree fully, Santana, when I first seen it, I was expecting a run of the mill rom-com, but I was more than pleasantly surprised.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121671480#Comment_121671480

Yes, you captured my very thoughts. I think they both took what they needed from their encounter/

Mairead Christine

One of my very favourite films. I visited Tokyo about a year after watching the film and it is my favourite place I've ever been. I'd love to go back if I could!

McFly85

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672796#Comment_121672796

Had to go for a drink in the bar in the Park Hyatt. Even without the film it’s worth going to for the stunning views of the city.

Went to the shrine that Charlotte went to as well.

mehico

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121641959#Comment_121641959

Also seen it when it was released but can't believe that was 2003! Agree that it had mixed reviews among my own friends at the time also, it wasn't universally liked for sure.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672878#Comment_121672878

I can only imagine the views from the Park Hyatt. I remember reading an article from Empire film magazine years ago, and one of the writers stayed there and they said it was bloody expensive.

Nigel Fairservice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672928#Comment_121672928

Hard to think it was over 20 years ago now. I remember opinions of the movie were very split at the time. I think Scarlett Johansson was 18 when she filmed it. It's was a very mature performance for someone so young. I'm the same age as her and had only just finished grappling with the Leaving Cert while she was turning out stuff like Lost in Translation!

o1s1n

I had plans to go and see it with some friends in the cinema back in 2003 but they fell through... still haven't watched it to this day! 😅

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672866#Comment_121672866

It is my favorite too. How long did you stay? I am hoping to go myself the end of next year.

TheIrishGrover

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674535#Comment_121674535

Now's a good time to buy Yen:

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121671480#Comment_121671480

Just to psychoanalyze, it seems that Charlotte's mindset was prompted by feeling abandoned by her husband.  Her husband's shallow character is an obvious foil to her deeper nature, and all of the people her own age that she meets in Japan are equally vapid and immature. Thus her relationship with Bob takes on much more significance.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121674610#Comment_121674610

I was over in October for two weeks and the yen currency conversion was crazy good. Made the whole trip a lot cheaper than I thought it was going to be!

Astartes

I can't watch this film, it reminds me too much of her.

HBC08

I only saw the movie once when it came out and then coincidentally watched it a few nights ago.

I lived in Japan(not Tokyo but have spent a lot of time there) for a few years in the intervening years.

Sometimes if you watch movie 20 years later you might feel differently about it,you're at a different place in your life etc.However it still connected with me all these years later.It's a great film,the atmosphere, the music the chemistry and the star of the show is the city.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121682767#Comment_121682767

Yes, I was the same. I re-watched it last year, after many years, and it still held up for me - it had the same impact.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121672928#Comment_121672928

I can't tell you how many people have told me that just don't get "Lost in Translation." They want to know what it's about. They say "nothing happens."

McFly85

Watched this again yesterday, still a wonderful film that manages to evoke the same feelings that it did since I watched it last! Hard to believe Johannson was only 17 filming that too.

Also, I see the Park Hyatt is closing this year to be renovated, and the New York Bar closed earlier this month for the same reason.

I’d still go back whenever I find myself there again for the views alone but will be a tad disappointing that it looks different. Hopefully it retains the same feel.

Gympodie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121639322#Comment_121639322

Absolutely, LIT isn't for everyone. They will call it boring, lifeless, limp. There are people, I realize, who have never experienced that kind of longing, who had never sought meaning in their lives, and searched for their own lost souls. They live for the here and now, without giving a thought to the spiritual aspects of life. It is a love affair not of bodies, but of minds and spirits. Some this movie will make angry. Some this movie will make weep.

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121765825#Comment_121765825

I've often experienced longing. I think we all have. But it doesn't mean that guys in their 50's should be preying on teenagers to satisfy that longing desire.

sameoldname

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121766228#Comment_121766228

Pretty certain that this is probably trolling but just in case not...

She's at least in her 20's in the movie as she's already married and has finished college. As for "preying" on her, if you actually watch the film she initiates most of the physical contact between them and is constantly glancing at him, far more than him at her. The final culmination of her supposed victimisation is a hug leading to a 2 second kiss on the lips followed by a kiss on the cheek. That's it. I think you're being a smidge hyperbolic in your criticism.

HBC08

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121766228#Comment_121766228

Her character is in her 20s and his 40s.