Review of Lost in Translation

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was a very good effort on the part of Sophia Coppola. The film lures you into it's feeling of directionlessness of the female lead excellently played by Scarlet Johannson. Here character has no direction in life and feels left behind by her young husband. Even travelling to Japan has not lifted her spirits. It's almost as if it is a comedown for her which I think reflects a bias against Japan and Asian cities. Furthermore in the Bill Murray character this conflict is even more pronounced. He is an actor who is past his prime and has stepped down a level to do whiskey ads in Japan. This clearly reflects a perspective of looking down on Japan as a lesser than country than a caucasian dominant country. Bill Murray's character does not want to be in Tokyo, yet even more it is not clear exactly where Mr. Murray's character really wants to be. He is in turn just as directionless as Scar Jo's character, perhaps even more so because of his advanced age in life.

There are numerous examples of how the movie presents an attitude of superiorty of caucasians of Japanese. The numerous scenes where Bill Murray's character has to meet Japanese representatives of the Whiskey brand leave us with the impression that Japanese are inferior. Yet, there is some celebration of Japan; the scenes of Scar Jo's characters travels to Kyoto, the sequence where they both go out in Tokyo and sing karaoke. This is the highlight of the film. Bill Murray sings Elvis Costello and they both have a good time. However, where are any Japanese characters of substance? Surely Tokyo is more than the prejudices that this movie leads you to believe. How should I know, I 've never been there. It just strikes me as a very superficial portrayal of Japan.

The story was good. It was truely original. It didn't seem derivative from any other work that I'm familiar with. There was an homage to Felini's La Dolce Vita, which, perhaps is where the genesis for Lost in Translation came from. Both are about finding a direction in life, drifting. Lost in Translation, like La Dolce Vita, leaves you with a heavy heart and an unquenched thirst for a more definite conclusion. Bill Murray and Scar Jo never get together. Bill Murray departs and Scar Jo is left to her husband. They both return to bourgeosie lives, unsatisfied, directionless. It is a love story without the culmination.