LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003)

Director:

Sofia Coppola

Writer:
Sofia Coppola

Starring:

Bill Murray
Scarlett Johansson
Giovanni Ribisi and others

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Pranit’s Rating : 5.5/10

Lost in Translation is a decent movie. Yes it is charming in places and the performances are top notch but the problem I had was the execution of a the very good script. Sofia Coppola does a good job behind the camera.  Some scenes are beautiful and witty which lends weight to the movie but it just doesn't feel enough. Still you can give it a try for Bill Murray's charming performance even though the end result is a movie lost in transition from paper to celluloid.

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Akshansh's Rating : 9.5/10

Talent runs in the Coppola family. There is no doubt about that. None at all.

Lost in Translation is a quietly beautiful movie - challenging in it's implications and yet, it manages to be subdued and relaxed at the same moment. Bill Murray is excellent as Bob Harris - he delivers with ease a performance that sums up his life's regrets, his fading career and a superficial relation with his wife.

Enter Scar-Jo, a psychology graduate, who too has doubts of her own : whether her young marriage was a correct decision? Has she "bound" herself? Where is she to go from here onward? What is she to do in life?

So, it ain't a surprise that these two 'lost' souls hit it off instantly.

The scenes at the hotel bar are some of the best in the movie - Sofia Coppola brilliantly captures the deep-seated insecurities of the central characters. Towards the end of the movie, she even manages to convert the unromantic skyline of Tokyo into something humane. Something that evoked hope.

The Scar-Jo - Murray chemistry is simply amazing. I haven't seen anything better since or prior. The magic of their relationship lies in the fact that it isn't carnal, but just a healthy (and rather rarely found) companionship in a foreign land. When Murray sings "More Than This" in that karaoke bar with his eyes fixed on Jo, it hints at something playful, but nothing creepy that can put the audience off.

Ultimately, Murray has to return to America. His trip is over. And with it, the promise of a budding relationship. This is what makes the last scene all the more special.

As serendipity would have it, they meet again. He comes out of the limo that is to take him to the airport, chases down Jo and kisses her. Then, he whispers something in her ear. Sofia Coppola's stroke of genius is this : whatever he says is overpowered by the buzz of the Asian markets. Jo smiles, Murray returns to his limo, and I'm still left wondering what he could have possibly said to her.

Then, I realise what Coppola has done : I guess she knew that we never wanted to know what had conspired in those few seconds afterall. Like those two, I found it easy to remain suspended in that moment. Neither inquiring nor over-thinking.

This movie is like poetry in motion. It'll be sometime before it can be displaced from my top 10 list.

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