Director: Sofia Coppola

Cast: Bill Murray, Scarlet Johansson, Giovanni Ribsi

Rating:

Sofia Coppola, a name that was always associated with the director of the legendary masterpiece, The God Father. But was she better off as a director herself? A talent that is yet to be tested when a very controversial piece of her work came out to theaters in the fall of 2003.

One feedback I heard from a fair lot of movie lovers. They just decided not to watch the movie for the popularity it had for its ‘edgy content’. With juvenile pettiness, I ran a quick checklist in my head before making up my mind: unknown actress (back then of course!) – Check, a director with a failure movie in hand (The Virgin Suicides) – Check, Bill Murray portraying a depressed movie star (why Bill Murray then?) – Check… then the movie was automatically off my “To-Watch List”. After all, who wants to watch another pointless depressing movie…

Yet the movie remained interesting in theory. Intriguing aspects tied loose ends; Coppola was praised for showcasing an undeniably common human state, Scarlet Johansson’s role as Charlotte set out her acting career as an appealing adult figure, and Bill Murray showed a subtle side of his personality… Juvenile, I told you !  So what’s with the vague plot of these two lost persons who run into each other in Japan?

To cut to the chase, the title well translates the theme of the movie where a famous actor, Bob Harris (Bill Murray), who traveled to Japan to shoot an ad is actually lost in translation whenever he tries to communicate in a supposedly universal language… English.

By chance, Bob then meets another lost soul in the “Land of The Rising Sun”; a woman called Charlotte (Scarlet Johansson) who came with her husband, a famous photographer, to Japan because she had nothing better to do. The two find the familiarity of the sense of emptiness in each other and relate to what they commonly acquire… both married, unhappy, and lost in translation…

Their acquaintance grows into a bonding friendship that grows into something bigger… something spiritual and compassionate! They both become eachother’s escape in a world where everyone fails to translate them.

The way Coppola portrayed this relationship was expressively striking and genuinely momentous. As awkward as the situation sounds, yet, everyone of us could relate to a moment, a condition, or the whole experience of this symbolic human encounter of fears, doubts, and blurry life-paths. What they had was so high and noble, where they respectfully and honorably unleashed brighter shades of each others’ personalities… They weren’t perfect; they had their fair sum of elusive decisions but not anywhere near the bond that tied them together…

The movie is a long easy-listening conversation, a bit slow I must say, but not boring. As the story uncovers, a definite question will be raised “How is it going to end?” and this is the moment when Coppola decided to choose the perfect symbolic ending to the movie… an amazing final touch that made the two hours experience a hell of a watch.

This movie will always remind us of the friendly face of Bill Murray and how persuasive Scarlet Johansson can be as an actress.

A human battle of thoughts and emotions… a misleading friendship that leads two lost souls to their right track… to the track that sounds right to you… to how you want them to be… to how you expect this experience to end! A lovely feature… please do watch!

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