Reviews of Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation review

Posted : 1 week, 1 day ago on 9 December 2009 06:46 (A review of Lost in Translation)

Lost In Translation is a beautiful masterpiece that I just was gripped with from start to finish. It is a masterpiece that will always have a place in my heart because of its deeply inspiring story and beautiful filmmaking. Lost In Translation is a beautiful story of friendship and it is definitely one of the best films based on that. I loved every single thing about this film. It is just so good to watch that its filmmaking standard is just too amazing to not love. I loved how this film was filmed in a more technical way. Lost In Translation is a masterpiece of romantic comedies and is probably one of the best. Whoever wouldn't like to watch Lost In Translation or don't want to watch it then that person or those people are missing out on a lot in a masterpiece like this. It is funny, beautiful, emotional and an absolutely wonder. It is a film that some people might find quite unusual. I can't explain why because it is very hard to explain that. I don't think that anybody I have known have said that this film is bad, boring, slow, pathetic or anything like that ever and I would have to ask them numerous questions why they didn't like this masterpiece. This film ends like the viewers request answers in which I'm not going to say because it will obviously spoil it.


The performances from both actors in this film are absolutely amazing. Bill Murray's performance was bloody amazing and it certainly gave him a very much deserved Oscar nomination and Golden Globe win. His character is a character you would deeply feel sorry for and would stay alongside until the very end. Murray hasn't really been an actor who delivers top notch performances that are worthy of Oscars and Golden Globes but he hits his massive glory jackpot in Lost In Translation and for damn good reason. His acting was just so good it literally blew me away in every scene he was involved in the film. It is an absolutely amazing memorable performance that I will always remember as one of the best. Bill Murray shows he is the only actor to portray Bob Harris. Bob is an aging movie star who has arrived in Tokyo to film a Suntory Whiskey advertisement. His marriage with his wife of 25 years is breaking down and they are falling out of love. Scarlett Johansson's performance as Charlotte wasn't only her best performance but it was her breakthrough performance and it is that simple. Her performance should have earned her first and only Oscar nomination. I was blown away by how beautiful and stunning she really was in this film. I don't believe that it is the greatest leading female performance but I have to say that it isn't far from achieving itself as one of my favourite performances from a leading actress. I personally believe that Scarlett became rather gifted with this film and she was only 19 years old when she was in this film. Her performance made me get deeply interested in her character. Charlotte is a young woman who is the young wife of a celebrity photographer on an assignment in Tokyo. Because of his work, he ends up leaving her behind in Tokyo. Being bored and lonely she meets Bob in a bar and they become close friends and make them seem unlikely lovers because of the age gap between them.


Lost In Translation has proved Sofia Coppola to be a brilliant director. She is an awesome director but a very shit actress especially in The Godfather: Part III and Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace. She has followed her directing talent straight after her father Francis Ford Coppola. I don't really see many women direct a film ever and I have to say that Coppola's directing of Lost In Translation is the best a woman has ever done. After her dreadful performance in The Godfather: Part III and The Phantom Menace, Sofia Coppola proves herself to be a director not to be reckoned with. Her script earned her first Oscar win and rightly so. She should carry on directing instead of acting because she is awful at that and she has already proved that twice already in a bad way. I don't think this film would have been good at all if Sofia Coppola wasn't directing it with Bill Murray nor Scarlett Johansson starring in it.


This is a film that I think made Sofia Coppola want to concentrate on directing films instead of acting in films. This is Bill Murray's best performance so far without a single doubt in my mind and probably always will be. It is Scarlett Johansson's best performance so far as well. It is her ultimate breakthrough performance and nobody can ever take that away from her. She is one of my all-time favourite actresses and this is the film that brought deep interest in Scarlett Johansson to me. Lost In Translation is one of the best films based on friendship and love, it is one of the best films of 2003, one of the best romantic comedies, one of the most heartwarming films of all time in my personal opinions. It is a film that I find an ultimate pleasure to watch. It is definitely one of the most creative films of all time as well because of its absolutely amazing modern filmmaking. A beautiful, exciting, romantic, funny and emotional film that I have loved every single I've watched it.

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Lost in Time but Never Lost In My Heart.

Posted : 1 year, 3 months ago on 3 September 2008 07:10 (A review of Lost in Translation)

''I just don't know what I'm supposed to be.''

''You'll figure that out. The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you. ''

A movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected newlywed meet up as strangers in Tokyo, Japan and form an unlikely bond.

Scarlett Johansson: Charlotte

Bill Murray: Bob Harris

Lost In Translation examines and explores the intricate web of love, life and loneliness, the restricted nature, the incessant insomnia and the weird out of place feeling of being in an alien place, where you feel like you are the only one of you're kind. The loneliness that evolves from being in essence solitary. The enigmatic possibility of a dream that meeting someone will awaken lost emotions and unlock memories. This is what life is about and Lost In Translation shows us like a flower blooming, coating us with it's sensual pollen and messages.

The characters here are believable. Their dialog is deep. The setting is dreamy and breath taking. It's all tirelessly fascinating because we can all relate to the spaces on offer and it involves us in ways that most films don't.
We the audience find ourselves drawn to every moment these two kindred spirits experience, together and apart. We are mesmerized, hypnotized even, by the glances, nuances and words they share.

Sofia Coppola successfully juggles Bob and Charlotte in their separate lives at first, but when they do meet, it's something out of this world. They begin to adventure out into the chaos and endless possibilty of Tokyo, and Lost In Translation almost takes on a perspective altogether altered from it's previous state. We saw Bob Harris and Charlotte at their most private and vulnerable, their inward lonely selfs. While out on the town, the film seems to sit back and just let them have fun. Thank God, for Bill Murray's rousing rendition of Elvis Costello's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding" is a riot. During this period, it seems that Bob and Charlotte have forgotten their insomnia and loneliness, but as they say nothing lasts forever. Even during their night on the town, we see moments where they sit silently, motionless and still some what confused. Lost In Translation is a comedy in some sense, but it escalates into a pervading tragic feel of seperation. At one point, Charlotte says to Bob: "Let's never come back here again, because it will never be as much fun."

The movie takes a while to truly glean out the deep-seated motivations of both of its characters, but they become fully-realized in a marvelous scene where Bob and Charlotte lay fully-clothed in bed together. Here, they handle the bigger questions in life's game, and not "Where did you go to uni?" or "What did you want to be when you were small?" but "What is my purpose?" and "Does marraige get easier?". I was intrigued at the sheer honesty of the character's answers. Bob relates to Charlotte the experience of having children and the ongoing struggles of being married, but a tinge of fear and apprehension runs through his speech. Charlotte hasn't really figured things out for herself at present, she says she's tried just about everything but hasn't found that doorway to venture through.

Coppola's screenplay takes these two separate beings, far apart in age and experiences, and makes a profound statement, both are in the same exact emotional limbo, and unending cycle. Charlotte is confused and worried, but Bob is regretful and washed-up. In a way, these two as said earlier are kindred spirits, two flames destined to meet. That is the heart and pumping blood of Sofia Coppola's vision.

I couldn't finish my review without saying or putting something about another star behind the scenes of Lost In Translation, that is nearly as effective to the film as Director/Screenwriter Sophia Coppola. That is cinematographer Lance Acord. He has worked on Coppola's husband's (Adaptation, Being John Malkovich director Spike Jonze) films before, but this is his finest, most beautiful work yet. He captures Japan, and the film's characters, with such a soft albeit colourfully sensual and abstract flare that it's nearly inexplicable to describe. I often wondered why, beyond the fact that they have so much to think about, Bob and Charlotte, are seen staring out windows so much. If they see Tokyo with the same resolute clarity that Lost In Translation perceives, they have no better reason to.

It has great comedic flair with Murray's wonderful work, but it's also perhaps one of the saddest and most moving films I've seen Murray ever do also.
It's a form of a romance but it's not in the form of when they'll kiss or when they'll make love (one kiss on the cheek becomes unbearably mind blowing in ways that transcend to love proportions). It also has that Affair to Remember vibe too, where the journey of two souls that find comfort will eventually have to come to an end. Its finish though, defies categorization, as does the rest of Lost In Translation. Many times during the film's quaint, quietly moving finale, I expected lush music to start playing to underscore the escalating sadness of the film. Fortunately it doesn't do this to us. Coppola simply lets her two amazing leads do all the necessary work. When the film does arrive at its final, ambiguous moment, it all just seems perfect.
The catchy Japan pop soundtrack that runs brilliantly throughout the film begins to play, and I find myself with a huge regret, that being that I won't be able to savor the subtle chemistry of Bob and Charlotte anymore, but content with the taste of a masterpiece still residing in my mind.

Some things do get Lost In Translation, but sometimes words aren't the only thing that require translating, sometimes your heart can be the hardest translation of all and finding yourself can be even harder.

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Lost in Translation review

Posted : 2 years, 6 months ago on 16 June 2007 01:17 (A review of Lost in Translation)

As someone who spends large parts of each working day utterly lost in translation I can relate to those very funny early scenes where Bill Murray is shooting the whiskey commercial. The Japanese director speaks for about a minute and the translation is just “Turn your head”. I’m sure many people have had this experience though I don’t think the lost in translation idea of this film is purely about language and culture. Bill Murray plays this very straight up, set against a very chaotic and futuristic Tokyo. His character is dignified and understated and funny - irresistible.

Cardigan rating: acceptable
Lap swimming rating: how unfair to see Scarlett dive into the pool then not get to check out her stroke, too cruel.
Jesus and Mary Chain rating: excellent


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Lost in Translation

Posted : 2 years, 7 months ago on 19 May 2007 06:38 (A review of Lost in Translation)

I think it's unbelievable that this film has no reviews. Then again, I think it's unbelievable that this film isn't even in the IMDb top 250. It's a truly amazing piece of art with a fantastic story, immense acting and an awe-inspiring setting.

In the opening shots we see Bill Murray looking out the window of his taxi at the overbearing neon landscape that represents his temporary home. His own sense of awe and confusion coupled with an innocent electronic soundtrack really sets the scene for the rest of the film. I don't see how anyone can fail to enjoy Lost in Translation. Everyone must like Bill Murray by default and it's just simple to fall in love with his character as soon as he makes his entrance. After that you find yourself immersed in an intense story of friendship and kindred spirits.

I've heard numerous complaints that 'nothing happens' in Lost in Translation, but I think this is an invalid complaint. One of the reason the film works to brilliantly is due to the fact that it lets its characters do the hard work. You could be forgiven for thinking the relationship between Bob and Charlotte was completely unscripted, due to the humanity of their actions. The film is typically inter-spliced with Bill Murray's subtle, dead pan comedy, but at the end of the day, you realise how much is said in the film without words.



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