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intereact!Director: Sofia Coppola
Actors: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Akiko Takeshita, Kazuyoshi Minamimagoe, and Kazuko Shibata
Rated: R (Restricted)
Retail Price (not our price): $12.98
Release Date: 2004-02-03
Theatrical Release Date: 2003-10-03
Studio: Universal Studios
Run Time: 102 minutes
Format: Array
Format: AC-3, Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Discs: 1
Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Amazon.com
Like a good dream, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation envelops you with an aura of fantastic light, moody sound, head-turning love, and a feeling of déjà vu, even though you've probably never been to this neon-fused version of Tokyo. Certainly Bob Harris has not. The 50-ish actor has signed on for big money shooting whiskey ads instead of doing something good for his career or his long-distance family. Jetlagged, helplessly lost with his Japanese-speaking director, and out of sync with the metropolis, Harris (Bill Murray, never better) befriends the married but lovelorn 25-year-old Charlotte (played with heaps of poise by 18-year-old Scarlett Johansson). Even before her photographer husband all but abandons her, she is adrift like Harris but in a total entrapment of youth. How Charlotte and Bill discover they are soul mates will be cherished for years to come. Written and directed by Coppola (The Virgin Suicides), the film is far more atmospheric than plot-driven: we whiz through Tokyo parties, karaoke bars, and odd nightlife, always ending up in the impossibly posh hotel where the two are staying. The wisps of bittersweet loneliness of Bill and Charlotte are handled smartly and romantically, but unlike modern studio films, this isn't a May-November fling film. Surely and steadily, the film ends on a much-talked-about grace note, which may burn some, yet awards film lovers who "always had Paris" with another cinematic destination of the heart. --Doug Thomas
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: 3.0 out of 5
1) Strangers in a Strange Land [Rating: 4 out of 5]
I just saw "Lost in Translation" for the first time today and I was impressed. However, in view of the many super-negative reviews, I should clearly state that the movie came together in the final minute or two. Had I not watched it to the end, I would not have has as positive reaction. Indeed, the bulk of this movie is sheer boredom. The writer and director want us to experience being in a lonely place (and boy do they suceed!). Haven't you ever spent a week one day, or a month one week, or a day one hour in a place where you just didn't fit in? Whether it be at the height of your career or as a child in a room full of adults, there is a real sense of loneliness when you realize that you are truly and profoundly all alone in a crowd; no one to relate to, nothing to entertain you, nothing to distract you, and you don't have the power to get up and leave; you're stuck! I know that I can think of a number of times that has happened to me and there is a lonliness and sadness unique to such an experience. Now think of similar settings on whose several occassions, there WAS someone who, for that otherwise interminable moment in time, was someone who made the experience turn into an manageable one. It wasn't any "love at first sight" experience, it wasn't a "let's exchange phone numbers" (or even just Christmas cards) experience, and certainly not a "let's do this again" experience. It was a place you never should have been but with someone who made the experience bearable. That's what I saw in "Lost in Translation". Moments like that come and then they are gone. "Lost in Translation" is a tribute to all the misplaced persons who found each other briefly and then moved on. It is a beautiful movie with exactly the right ending. Share the boredom but share the blessing as well.2) If you've been there, you really know the deal ... [Rating: 5 out of 5]
Thumbs up for the real-ness and funny-ness, and err ... Japanese-ness(?). Good direction, sets and acting; nice ending. If you've been there, you really know the deal in traveling enough to Japan, France, etc. ... Tom Ota3) I did`t lost in translation [Rating: 5 out of 5]
I had the fortune to lived in Japan (Tokio, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka) for one month, and enjoyed the style of life of the japan people. This movie is reflex of that style of life, not totally, but the atmosphere is magic, with the street and some interior places. Great movie, amazing direction, sweet acting.4) Worst Film Ever. [Rating: 1 out of 5]
No need for a review. Watch it for yourself and be goaded into such extreme boredom that you may choose to hang yourself rather than endure any more.5) Lost in Translation - a not so modest review of a not so terrific "film" [Rating: 1 out of 5]
I realize I will be flamed for a negative review of the "film". But, please at least read my reasoning for it.Lost in Translation was the movie that had critics buzzing in 2003. It was hailed as a masterpiece. I hadn't heard anything bad about the film from normal viewers (at the time), only good things. The movie sounded interesting so naturally I wanted to watch it. "It" being the supposed "film" I was supposed to adore and awe at. Unfortunately, this decision spurred a rental of the movie and subjecting my family and I to 300 million hours of torture, during which several brain cells were fried, I nearly whipped many objects at the TV, and of course, the intense hatred for this..."film"....was formed. Now, I realize it's silly to hate a film of all things. But, I actually forced myself to watch it the whole way through with the hope that I'd be able to find some sense of meaning within the film. But, in the end, nothing came. Bob (Bill Murray) is a washed up actor that is going to Tokyo to shoot a commercial - or whatever, I really don't care to remember. During this time he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johanssen - taking vacation pay) and the two of them in their bored and miserable lives start spending time together, wandering around Tokyo, etc. So what's the problem, you ask? Well, for starters, the characters aren't really characters at all. They're just cardboard cut-outs set to walk around looking lost or pensive around Shibuya or whatever district they're in. There's no connection felt to either character except for isolation and apathy. Charlotte stares out her window for about 20 minutes of the film - sighing sadly. Why do I care? Wow, she's sighing, she's sad and lonely. I get it. What's the point? Rich people can be sad? People feel empty? Fine, but so what? I increasingly felt more isolated from the character and the film as a result of this.Bob talks with his wife on the phone, doesn't care that she doesn't love him anymore, and randomly goes around drinking. He's sad too; but once again, why do I care? Well I admit I do care - but only about the drink. I was tempted to open up a bottle just to ease the pain of watching two talented actors wander around doing nothing for what felt like a couple million years. Then again, I don't even think a drink could make me enjoy LiT. I might find the lights trippy though. So some say those who don't like LiT don't understand the immense subtlety of the film. (Actual IMDB comments) Well, I understand subtlety perfectly fine. But it's not found sighing for 20 minutes and looking sad. I see what Coppola might be doing, if she has a point to the movie. She wants us to connect with the characters - she wants us to connect with their loneliness and sadness, the way Bob and Charlotte connect. The problem is, the characters are paper-thin. They have no depth, no emotion to latch onto. I can't connect with anything in this movie. The characters seem unreal, as if they were just thrown into the movie to walk around and randomly say a few words to each other. We get two comic book cut-outs wandering around saying "Hey, you want to go to -insert place-" and "Sure." It pushes one away. Why should I care about this then? So what, they're pondering life? I ponder life too, but at least do something about it. "But," you say, "this is real life. People just go about in routine. Things aren't always solved in the end." To me, that's not why I'm upset at this aspect. I don't care if their lives get better or not. However, aside from them being paper thin, everything seems to be in pity-party mode. They need to get over themselves. Again, why should I care? These characters have no meaning, no emotional impact. Instead I'm left with a void and intense annoyance at trying to feel something, anything from this film. What is Coppola trying to say here? Is there a point? Or is the point that there is no point? "Well, she's showing life as it is," you say. Great, I could show life too. If sitting and sighing is so amazing, why don't I have someone run around a block looking pensive and get it turned into a masterpiece as well? That's life too. Okay, that sounded way too harsh. You will have to forgive me for that one.What I'm trying to say is, whether there's a point in LiT or not, I have to be able to take something away from a film. Something from a film has to impact me. I don't see the necessity of this film. So we feel lost. We need to be found. We need to socialize. So? I can't connect with anything set up in the movie because it seems contrived and pushed. The actors are so wooden (I blame the script - or lack of script for that matter) they just move from point A to point B. No emotion, no force in their roles, and absolutely nothing to entice me to want to follow them on their "journey" through the movie. Instead of connecting with the characters, I feel dragged, pushed, and in the end I just wanted to break the TV out of frustration to end the insanity. Fine walk around Tokyo, I don't care, just don't make me watch it. The long pauses and awkward silences aren't bad when there's something to relate to, but when it feels like they're reading lines off the teleprompt and there's no emotion, the scenes drag and bleed into each other. It felt like an eternity and I just wanted it to end. My brain cells felt like they were dying - I nearly nodded off, only kept awake by convincing myself that there had to be something, anything that would make it good. But, this film has nothing in it that's special. I promise, this movie would cure my insomnia. So they go to a Japanese restaurant, fine, but there's nothing to see. Wow they're cooking their meal while not speaking to each other. What am I supposed to feel in this scene? Emotions should feel stronger then words, yes, such is the essence of filmmaking. But, when the script, actors, and director can't portray those emotions, can't make you feel it, it falls flat. It fails miserably. Bob has a hooker make him rip the stockings - a scene which is totally unnecessary and stupid nonetheless. So there are stereotypes, so we can't understand what she's saying, Bob feels disoriented - inbetween all this I'm wondering how someone could think up such a dumb scene in a film. Was that supposed to be funny? If it was, it failed miserably. It just made both of them look cronically insane. This is where I start to question my sanity in watching the movie. Bob watches himself on TV. Reality is different then the image. I get it. But the idea that could have been explored is not fleshed out well. It's only half there, with Coppola pushing the theme on the viewer to the point of annoyance. It's this, which is part of the reason I don't care anymore. These characters are so fake and blown up - they're comic characters come to life. Either that or it feels like a live action anime gone wrong in every respect. All I needed was Bill Murray to challenge someone to a duel with a samurai sword and that would be it. Bob and the Japanese director have a communication problem. They can't communicate with each other. Are we supposed to feel lost, confused, or as others do, begin laughing at how funny it is? Yes, this happens all the time in a foreign country. *shrugs* I don't see what else I can see here. How is that amazing? How is this profound? It's not. Then there's the karoake bar. It's not amazing, not profound. But it was the only time in the movie where I thought - maybe she's trying to get somewhere with this. Maybe Coppola wants us to feel geniune emotion at how empty life can be, how lonely we can get. Only, I was to have my hopes dashed after a moment of nearly seeing the point of that scene. It seems geniune at first, but as the singing continues, it slumps into the same category of overblown proportions. People are lonely and feel empty, Coppola. Fine. But don't beat us over the head until whatever "message" you want to have for us, if indeed there is a message. Charlotte is with her husband, sad, not really there. Doesn't pay attention to him, he doesn't pay attention to her, etc. Then he goes off with a girl, she's left alone. She wanders sadly around Tokyo alone, she wanders the hotel, she paces the hotel room in her underwear (sex appeal for the men), she goes to the bar to meet Bob. All her character is is a vessel to wander and be sad, then connect with Bob. The problem is, I feel empty - not in connection with her emotions; but with the film. Everything's just a big Hollywood set-up, with paper characters that are supposed to do something. She wanders, wants to be found, why do I care? The fact is, I don't. This isn't relatable. Sure we all want to be found; but I can't feel sorry for a rich pity-partier. Oddly enough, I am still trying to figure out how I can steal that umbrella she had. It's kind of sad that I say that. When you're focusing on the props as opposed to the story, there's a serious problem with what's going on in a movie. It feels like Coppola has just lazily inserted wooden characters with sighing motions to make people think there's something there. She has the classic problem of being all style and no substance. The cinematography is phenomenal, I will admit. The sets and costumes look nice and pretty. The movie has all the trappings of what looks like a great film, but there's nothing inside it's core. It's like having a present delivered to you - it looks pretty on the outside; however inside there's nothing but air and disappointment. For such an amazing "film", I sure didn't find anything amazing about it. It left me feeling dull, empty, and angry. Bring on the thumbs down comments...