self-indulging effort

Rating: 4/10 (21 September 2003)

I sincerely came upon this movie with a wish that Sofia Coppola would show some (potential) talent in filmmaking with her resources and her position in the film industry. I wished she would made a splash in a mundane, tired American Cinema. I really did since Virgin Suicide was a quite some effort.
Unfortunately, Lost in Translation was badly written, and it falsely disguised as a character film with no characters that could carry the film. This is a senseless film if not only mediocre. Do not fooled by the hype of it being a subtle, silent, private moments kind of film; Lost in Translation is almost self-indulging to a large extend. Its cliche are embarassingly student film like, with the usual cultural differences, and ha ha that's wacky about the Japanese type of humour. It is severely ignorant and racist. In other words, brainless humour.
The private moments are too familiar, the emotional reactions (or lack of) towards each other's spouses have been told too many time in plays and films, and the usual emptiness one feels is overstretched. Nothing in this film and no characters in it are idiosyncratic, nor utterly themselves, nor special enough for us to be attracted to.
It is about a space that is neither spatial (nothing about the notion of "lost") nor emotional. It is purely narcissistic of what Sofia Coppola as a writer wants. The film apparently suffers.
It is as if the writer merely had a general idea of how a fading and aging star might have felt, or a young neglected wife would have gone through, and put together a cinematic story. It just does not work that way. It is purely writer's type of self-indulgence. There is nothing "sensitive" towards emotions nor towards relationships with people, with spaces, with oneself. The film is not thoughtful in its writing and building.
It is obviously a failed attempt of an inexperienced writer/director making a film about life as she has no knowledge of such, at least not conceptually and intuitively.
Bill Murray gives a decent performance but unfortunately is limited by the character he portrays. A man with (past) glory left with much room and space to introspect is a notion worth exploring. But the director/writer has looked pass this and subsequently made a film about a whiny (rich) man and cliche rendering of her idea of mid life crisis.
A philosopher wanna be young woman who claims to have a philosophy degree, goes around town and shrines to find inner peace and spirituality is still only a wanna be.
Put all this together leaves a film which is a bad imitation of neon light city (spatial and emotional relations) as has been done successfully by Wong Kar Wai, and private gestures of emotional life and intimacy as done quietly yet profoundly by Lynn Ramsay (also just had her sophomore effort with "Movern Callar").
It could have been beautiful to explore a relationship between an older person and a younger one. This theme is already intriguing to explore properly. Unfortunately the film ends up with a question, "why are these people feeling so empty, oh poor stars, they must suffer..." Even if so, the film could have been all about that. It goes nowhere.
There are moments which are noteworthy and lighthearted. They earn a few laughs. But overall, it is a overhyped film where its supporters blindly believe it as a beautiful, sensitive film. And I don't even want to go into commenting the cinematography and editing, etc..
It ends up an insignificant film (which is unfortunate) and I wish the filmmaker makes a better film next time.