Lost in Translation

Matthew Collins

Lost in Translation

Sofia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation follows two Americans in Tokyo who each suffer from the desire to connect with another person in a foreign landscape. The movie follows middle aged, washed up actor Bob Harris played by Bill Murray, and Charlotte a girl in her early twenties played by Scarlett Johansson. The two main characters suffer from lifeless and deflated marriages and feel isolated because of it. Coppola's use of the city of Tokyo, Japan amplifies this feeling of loneliness. The director highlights the fact that they are both so different from everyone in the city. Coppola shows this through many different techniques, for example; the scene where Bob is in the elevator in the luxury hotel, is filled with Japanese citizens who all appear much shorter than Bob. Another method Coppola uses to instill the feeling of isolation is language; the scene where Bob is on the talk show shows just how lost he feels because he can not understand anything the host is doing since, he does not understand Japanese culture nor the language. Charlotte feels trapped because she is in a stasis in her life. She does not what to do with her education and she is having trouble dealing with the fleeting love she has for her husband. Coppola’s title Lost in Translation depicts what the two characters feel in the film; they are both alone and detached in a city where they do not understand the language or culture but, they find solace in each other.  

Lost In Translation: Isolation Through Cinematography

One of the essential themes/feelings found in Lost In Translation, is the feeling of being isolated from the outside world. Both Bill Murray's and Scarlett Johansson's characters are lost and isolated not only physically in the city of Tokyo, but also in their relationships. Along with the script, and characterization, one of the ways that isolation is expressed through the film is the cinematography. Many shots throughout the film, especially towards the beginning, show the main characters in a small portion of the frame, surrounded by empty space or an out of focus landscape. Having the characters' surroundings engulfing the majority of the frame successfully expresses the idea that the characters are isolated and excluded from their environment.

Lost in Translation - Overlooking the City

In the film of Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola expresses an interesting way to show emotions throughout the movie whether it is the feelings being expressed between two people or individually. From the feelings of frustration to sadness to loneliness, Coppola pinpoints this devastation through awkward humor dealing with people who speak a different language along with capturing many shots standing out in the middle of a crowd. As this feelings begins to turn around when the famous star meets a girl the camera no longer captures the loneliness but the connection between two people.

In earlier scenes, the female character would stare through the glass of her window watching all she is missing out on through the day stuck in her room. A later scene when the famous actor and the girl are just hanging out together in the room lounging, a shot of looking out the window through the night sky and overlooking the city seems to no longer be a feeling of loneliness but a "high" positive feeling of being "on top of the world" when they are both together. This shot was shown by the focus being on the lit up city below and the reflection of the bright room and the characters having fun conversation seen from the glass instead of the earlier scene with soft gray and blue colors.

Lost In Translation - Why I hated It

Sofia Coppola's


The movie seemed to be more like a movie that was trying to be "deep". It was a calm film, and fairly subtle, but after a while, it just got boring. It seemed to be filled more with cool shots of Tokyo and Bill Murray, and less with an actually interesting plot. I get that the director was trying to tell a story about two people feeling lost and alone in an alien culture, but it fell flat to me. Basically, the whole movie was about two white people with emotional issues, finding each other and becoming friends in Japan. Okay. That was about it.
It felt like the characters were undeveloped. Yes, Bill Murray is a sort-of washed-up, wise-cracking actor with an inattentive wife, but that was about it. Yes, Scarlett Johansson was a lady that felt lonely, and was stuck with an inattentive husband, but that was about it. The only substance I got from their interactions together, were that they were both supposed to be quirky. And after seeing that trope done countless other times, this failed to engage me.

And the thing that topped it off was the ending where Bill Murray whispered inaudibly into Scarlett Johannson's ear. It was supposed to be a mystery, but to me, it fell flat. I honestly could care less about what Bill Murray told her, because I felt no motivation to care. I was unattatched to the characters due to the lack of interesting character traits, and I can already assume that whatever he said would be something cliched like "Goodbye" or "I'll see you again sometime". This movie was dull to me. Very much so.

Tokyo - Lost in Translation

Cyrus Burris

It's not very often that a film's characters and setting mesh together as one. Watching Lost in Translation made me realize that Tokyo itself, as a city, is one of the most important characters in the film. Now, while it does do some of the simple funny, little things (The tiny shower, tight elevators and the like), it also does what any good character should do, and brings out the best in the main characters. To see who someone truly is, place them in a foreign environment. They'll use their natural instincts to thrive and succeed. That's what Tokyo does for Charlotte and Bob. They're both in a weird stage of their life, and Tokyo as a new and different environment gives them the opportunity to "start over" in a sense. Their characters move and live differently. Tokyo does this to them. Tokyo is a main character in this film just as Bob or Charlotte is, as it truly brings out the best in everyone within it.

Does It Get Easier? -Lost In Translation

The real climax of Sofia Coppola's 2003 film "Lost in Translation" is when Bob (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) discuss life based around the question "does it get easier?"  The scene begins with a high angle shot of the two of them lying on a bed.  This birds eye view symbolizes that they are both powerless in relation to their topic of discussion, life.  When Charlotte first asks Bob if it gets easier, he says no.  However, she then turns towards him, which shows that she is looking for him to provide hope to her life and did not get the answer she was hoping for.  He then changes his stance and says that is does get easier because he recognizes her hopelessness and wants to help her.  It is clear that he doesn't truly believe that life becomes easier as he looks away from her as he says it.  Bob then says "the more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you."  This time, he is speaking from the heart which is demonstrated by him turning towards her as he speaks.  Charlotte then talks about her lack of direction in life, showing that she doesn't know who she is so it may not get easier.  Bob demonstrates his care for her by in saying "I'm not worried about you", but he looks away as he says it.  The directions of their eyesight are deliberate and intended to give the viewer insight into the mind of the two.  Charlotte is looking towards him this whole time, desperate for advice in how to find happiness.  Meanwhile, Bob is looking away because he isn't happy himself and can't look her in the eye as he lies while attempting to comfort her.

     

Lost In Translation

Lost In Translation directed by Sofia Coppola, has a very different style from all of the other films we've watched. Unlike There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men, beginning of this film does not seem to have a clear and definitive plot or purpose. While viewing this film, I noticed that many students and myself were not always sure as to what was going on or what the overall purpose of the film was. However, as we continued watching the film I began to think of it as a story that shows the similarities and strange connection between two characters who would appear to have nothing in common, yet are connected through their outlooks on each of their lives. For example, Scarlett Johansson's character Charlotte, is only twenty-one whereas Bob the man she forms a relationship with, is at the age where he is having a mid-life crisis. By having two contrasting characters linked in such a way that leads them to form a close relationship, I think the director's purpose was to show how even the most unlikely people can find common interests or struggles that they can bond over. One particular aspect of Sofia Coppola's directing style that I noticed help make this film very natural seeming, was the use of many different types of frames. She used many close-up frames in order to show Charlotte's inner struggles with feeling trapped in a hotel room all day, and profile shots of Bob that allowed both his surroundings, and him to be shown. I also think Coppola's use of a very soft color scheme combined with light music are elements that helped set a casual, yet intimate tone to the film. As a whole I enjoyed the film, however I was not very interested or captivated from the beginning. Instead, as the movie progressed I grew more interested in the characters and how their relationship was going to turn out.

Big in Japan (Lost in Translation)

Many of us have been away to summer camp; spending weeks with friends in a strange or unfamiliar home away from home. When the time comes to leave there is always a saddening moment when we realize that we don't want to go back, wishing that things could stay perfect just the way they are. Camp for me was always an escape where I could delve into life without any constraints. For some odd reason, these feelings were recreated when watching the final few minutes of Lost In Translation. Bill Murray's character comes to Japan, from what we pick up on very quickly, as some sort of mundane, necessary business trip that he has to put up with for the week he spends in Tokyo. For most people flying half way around the world would be seen as some sort of escape from the usual norm... Yet between moments of a Japanese Director screaming in your face and being tormented by your wife from another continent about carpet colors, Bob Harris is nowhere near "free". I believe that it was only when he met Charlotte did he see a reflection of his own constrained and dwindling life. These two new friends explored, experienced and took in the world around them in any which way they wanted to. There were no odd reasons for these feelings that reminded me of childhood freedom, in fact it has nothing to do with being a child. As slow paced and uneventful Lost in Translation could be at times, the film carried a message that it's important to look at the world and people around you, and to see what it and they can offer you besides the life you already have.