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Scarlett Johansson as Charlotte

LOST IN TRANSLATION
Directed by: Sofia Coppola.
Produced by: Coppola & Ross Katz.
Written by: Coppola.
Director of Photography: Lance Acord.
Edited by: Sarah Flack.
Music by: Brian Reitzell & Kevin Shields.
Released by: Focus.
Country of Origin: USA. 105 min. Rated: R.
With: Bill Murray & Scarlett Johansson.
DVD Special Features: A Conversation with Bill Murray and Sofia Coppola. Lost on Location. "Matthew's Best Hit TV". Kevin Shields' "City Girl" Music Video. Deleted Scenes. Trailer.

Anyone who has ever had the experience of traveling to a country where the familiar can never be taken for granted and the simplest communication works at cross-purposes will empathize with the frustrations and comic situations of two Americans in a foreign land. Though a standard recipe for humorous misunderstandings and mishaps, Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola's latest effort, infuses a freshness to this comic fare by using Tokyo as its setting and by bringing the urban mesh and culture clash of 21st century Japan and America to the fore.

A celebrated and pampered American actor, Bob Harris (Murray), arrives jet-lagged and bleary-eyed to begin filming the latest in a series of Suntory Whiskey ads. With each exasperating day, his spirit is more adrift within the fast-paced streets of Tokyo. Not even sex, drugs, and hot tubs can entice or engage his interest for very long. That is, not until Charlotte (Johansson) comes along. While her newlywed photographer husband is off on various assignments, she decides, contrary to Bob's malaise - and in vain - to engage herself in the religious shrines, local customs, and self-help recordings of the Far East. As could be expected, their paths meet in the hotel lounge, and a subsequent night of carousing and karaoke seals a growing kinship. This mutual connection gives them both a sense of sanity and grounding which sets them apart from the circus arcade of theme-park commercialism, superficial fads, and self-absorbed characters.

With his signature deadpan inner-smirk delivery, Bill Murray balances the comedy and pathos of a life, marriage, and career on the rocks while Scarlett Johannson brings an endearing Roseanne Arquette girl-you-want-to-take-care-of vulnerability to her role. However, the movie becomes more about the older world-weary man and the younger bright-light beauty who save each other rather than the more engaging aspects of societal and spiritual disjointedness. Thus, an expansive premise becomes reductive and more self-conscious, as if it were running out of ideas. In addition, repetitive shots and story sequences undermine the film's potential, and the editing - beset with a jumpy, sketchy quality - interferes with the overall fluidity of the plot. Although Lost in Translation does not depart to uncharted territory, a number of stops are still enjoyable along the way. Max Rennix, New York-based actor/writer
September 26, 2003

DVD Extras: The commentaries and “making of” portray the crew’s trials and tribulations (a typhoon approaching Tokyo, crew getting kicked out of the Shabu-shabu restaurant, and shooting at the crowded Shibuya crossing without permission). It is clear that improvisation played a major part in this film, as many times we see director Sofia Coppola desperately trying to repress her laughter due to unexpected consequences. One of the deleted scenes that could not fit into the final cut is the hilarious “Matthew’s Best Hit TV.” In this segment, a Japanese TV host Matthew Minami (who is not a fictitious character - this show really exists in Japan) greets Bob and introduces him as “a former buddy neighbor.” He becomes wildly excited when Bob gives him mackerel sushi, squealing and hugging him. Then Matthew (Takashi Fujii) makes Bob play strange games such as guessing what he is blindly touching (a live eel, which Bob ends up pushing down Matthew’s pink and green striped suit). What is most absurd is that this scene, along with the many other odd and peculiar scenes among the special features, are true depictions of Tokyo. Those who have been there and met its people will crack up, nod, and applaud Coppola for her keen insight to this sophisticated exotic culture. Hazuki Aikawa, journalist, director of the documentary Yancha
February 22, 2004

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