low meat-to-bone ratio

Rating: Null/10 (10 February 2004)

mild spoilers ahoy.
as with THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, there's something lacking on the storytelling front. LOST IN TRANSLATION tries hard to take you somewhere meaningful but never really gets you to the intended destination. the prime elements of this story--being on unfamiliar ground, two protagonists who feel unfulfilled in large areas of their lives, sexual tension without sexual consummation--do not contribute enough substance to a film that has little else. these elements struggle toward profundity but never pass the boundaries of cliche.
the director seem confused about how to use the backdrop of japan. it seems to be given as much weight as a human character, which might be the intent, given the bare-bones plot. for those of us with little familiarity with japan, the travelogue-ish footage makes the place seem unattractive; for those of us who are familiar with the country, the same footage appears to be a stalling technique, a substitute for actual story.
sophia coppola is not without talent, but if she were anyone else (i.e., without a big-name connection to hollywood) she would have had to grow her talent prior to being allowed to make relatively well-distributed films. unfortunately, she's been let out of the starting gate a bit too early. my guess is that she has a lot of respect for independent film and aspires to put the best traits of indie films into her movies, but her results are neither here nor there. they're competent in production, but a bit lacking in soul and insight and direction.