Lost in Translation

This screenplay transforms the hackneyed fantasy of a middle-aged man and a youthful beautiful college girl into a meaningful story. I found what was not happening in the personal lives of the two characters as interesting as what was happening, and of course, that was the point. It provided a wonderful complexity to the plot. After all, what is love all about after 25 years, two kids and a mortgage? And what is love about when infatuation is replaced? Then afterward I wondered, was this a story about ethics, morality, taboos, family values or immorality? The answer may be all of the above.

The film begins as Bob Harris the protagonist arrives in Tokyo. The disorientation of a long plane trip from California over the International Date Line to a time zone 17 hours different, the biological clock that wakes you to start your day at 3 am and the phantasmagoric hotel life were portrayed with accurate realism. And these elements in the story line provide the backdrop for a suspension of normal behavioral boundaries.

I found this good entertainment and an interesting episode however the screenplay was missing some of the traditional elements that would have made a much more engaging story. There is some rising tension as we anticipate the relationship, but the characters dont have a lot at stake, they dont undergo a change as a result of this episode and there are no archetypes in play.

I enjoyed the Japanese scenery in Tokyo the over advertising glare of too many building signs, the crowds, the temples. However a couple of scenes were inappropriately dropped into the film to demonstrate idle time: Bob Harris driving off a tee toward Mt. Fuji when he was supposed to be miles away in Tokyo and Charlotte riding a bullet train to some undisclosed destination. And I was disappointed in the camera work, which was jerky and distracting during some of these scenery shots.

Bill Murray plays Bob Harris, an actor sent to Tokyo for some advertising work. This is a serious piece and Murray carries every message to the screen brilliantly. And he does this not through dialogue but with gesture, expression and intonation. In one scene, Harris talks to his wife on a cell phone while sitting in a hot tub in a plush Tokyo hotel, and his tone of voice captures the entire emotional content of their relationship. Some of his playful comic style is in the film, but it is folded in like a quick attempt to reclaim fun, a reminiscence of things past. I last remember seeing Murray in Groundhog Day (1993) although he has been in many good films since his career kicked off on Saturday Night Live (1975). A little trivia: He has ownership interests in three minor league baseball teams.

Scarlett Johnansson was well cast as Charlotte, the new young wife of a rock music photographer, left alone in Tokyo. She has appeared in 15 films since 1994, most notably as Grace in The Horse Whisperer (1998). She received a Hollywood Reporter Young Star award for that role.

Sofia Coppola wrote the screenplay and directed the film, her third, although it is her first significant film directing effort. She is married to the director, Spike Jonze and she is the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, the cousin of Nicholas Cage and the sister of Roman Coppola. She was cross cast as a baby boy for her debut in The Godfather (1972). She has been an actress in a dozen films since then including The Godfather sequels and Star Wars: Episode I (1999).

Reviewed November 10, 2003

Copyright 2003 Film Reviews by Charles