The Universal Language of Lost in Translation (2003)

Rating: 10/10 (30 March 2020)

Lost in Translation (2003) - [10/10]
I really don't know what to say. It's incredibly hard to put into words the experience I just went through and witnessed. I guess I'll start with where it all began: the Coppola family. Jeez Louise what on Earth are the Coppola's eating for breakfast? Francis Ford Coppola and wife Eleanor Coppola must be feeding their children some sort of filmmaking breakfast, because all three of their children (themselves included) are spectacular filmmakers. Roman Coppola, Sofia Coppola, and Gian-Carlo Coppola all have done something remarkable in film; particularly Sofia. Whatever it is they're eating, I want some. Sofia Coppola crafted an exquisite piece of cinema in the form of Lost in Translation (2003). This film is so remarkably written, I am not at all surprised she won Best Writing, Original Screenplay at the 76th Academy Awards. In my opinion I would have loved to see her win more, such as Best Director (she was actually the third female director to ever be nominated for that category) but Peter Jackson definitely deserved it. I don't think I would have been able to decide between Coppola and Jackson. Everything feels so natural in Lost in Translation (2003). It doesn't feel scripted, and that's how amazing it is. The events that unfold are unpredictable, simply because life is unpredictable. It is so subtle, everything she sets up I mean, yet at the same time it isn't. It takes multiple viewings to pick up on some of the subtleties because there are so many. Things that are mentioned, seen, or even thought from our leads come back in new ways. It's really the subtleness of the film that impacts the audience the most. These subtle things suddenly reappear right before the audience's eyes and it's beautiful to see. The direction is masterful. Clearly she's picked up some things from her father, and improved upon those things. She's able to conjure emotions in her characters and in the audience, emotions that have never crossed the cinema screen. It's spectacular in that way. I felt things I have never felt before. This film is real. It is incredibly real, to the point where it's almost as if you're watching a documentary and a small portion of two people's lives. We're able to really empathize with these characters as a result. These characters are real people that could exist, and probably do. For a large portion of the film, I forgot I was watching Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson acting. Masterful direction and writing makes you feel lost in this film. Lost in the beauty. This film completely changed the dramatic romance genre. It wasn't focused on a man or a woman. It was focused on both at the same time. It doesn't feel like a romance, yet at the same time it does. It's really interesting. The characters in this film aren't necessarily in love with each other, but they need each other. They need each other for that portion of their lives and it changes them. Just as it can change the audience that views this film. We get the sense that this is not your typical romance film from the very first, opening shot. It isn't about physical love, but emotional love for each other's well-being. The impact this film had can be seen in many other films such as Her (2013). Spike Jonze actually wrote and directed it, Sofia Coppola's ex-husband. A lot of Lost in Translation (2003) is actually based off of her experiences in Tokyo with Spike Jonze which is quite interesting. I actually prefer this film over Her (2013), but both are really similar. I think it can be said that without Lost in Translation (2003), pieces like Her (2013) would not have been made. The casting in this film is perfect. No one else could have pulled this off if Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson weren't cast. The age gap was not a problem. It wasn't weird or disgusting, but oddly beautiful. We smiled with their characters. We laughed with their characters. We cried with their characters. If someone else played Bob Harris (Murray's character) it would have been creepy. He was perfect in this film. He truly became his character (partly because Coppola wrote his role with him in mind). His mannerism, eyes, facial expressions, how he sits, stands - everything is purposeful and believable. I was able to tell what his character was thinking just from his eyes, and I knew exactly what he was going to do next before it even happened. There's a reason he was nominated for Best Actor. He should have won. This is probably my favorite performance by him and is actually his favorite film he's made. He's hilarious, serious, but at the same time you can tell he's pained and that something is terribly wrong. Masterful acting on his part. Scarlett Johansson is really good in this film as well. She utilized the same techniques that Murray did, as she also became her character. She was only 17 when this was being filmed, so to be able to pull off the things she did is quite incredible. Her skill as an actress can be seen in this performance at a very young age. A lot of this film is just that - incredible. A lot of people become upset with this film's depiction of Tokyo. It relies on a lot of Japanese stereotypes in the form of animated caricatures of people. I didn't find it disrespectful at all. As a tourist in a foreign country I know that that's how I've felt towards the different peoples and cultures. You really only see the stereotypes because you don't quite understand their people. It is no different in this film. We center on two Americans in the foreign world of Japan, so it only makes sense that we only see the stereotypes of Japan because that is what out characters see. It isn't meant to be insensitive, it is meant to be true. (I know the length of this review is long, so I'll try and simplify other parts if the film.) The cinematography is really beautiful and meaningful. The soundtrack is perfect to place us in the shoes of our characters. The editing is perfect. Everything about this film is perfect. I truly enjoy and love this film. It's probably my favorite romance film ever. It's a masterpiece. It is the small moments that hit hard. Such as the moments where, typically, the love interests in a romantic film would get intimate, but in this film they don't. Instead, our two characters simply talk. They talk about their problems, and solve them for each other without directly knowing they did so. These are the types of moments that come together to form Lost in Translation (2003). Some phrases aren't always the same when translated into different languages. Films aren't always the same when translated into different languages. People aren't always the same in different, new locations. A lot is lost in the act of this translation (or relocation in terms of people traveling). But what is never lost and what is the universal language, is emotion. Emotion is never lost in Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation (2003). Sometimes it will hit you like a brick. Other times it will softly tap on your shoulder - or whisper in your ear. But emotion, emotion is constant throughout this film. This universal language whispers into your ear as you watch this masterpiece, it whispers and whispers until the words are incomprehensible. And at that point, the film resolves. (This film features one of my favorite endings in film history). These final words stay with you as the credits roll, and as the experience that is (and was) Lost in Translation (2003) ends - it only just begins. Coppola plants a seed in your soul that begins to sprout as the credits roll. It begins to sprout seconds after the film is over. Minute after minute. Hour after hour. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. And in some cases, year after year. This seed is the universal language - emotion. That is what a film should do. The best films begin when you walk out of the theater. This film has the power to change you through that seed, if you let it. It will open your eyes to new ideas, feelings, peoples - and emotions. Lost in Translation (2003) is a film that will become a part of you after viewing it (you'll be bilingual in a new universal language as well). It is incredibly hard to translate how I felt to words, because it is such an experience. So I highly encourage each of you to watch this film for yourself. To feel what I felt. To experience what I experienced. (This film is very much not rated R. There is only one sequence in this film that makes it R and it is completely useless. It lasts for 1 minute and 3 seconds, but it is pointless. If that is the main reason why you haven't seen this film, I can send you the timestamp and explain what happens so you can skip over it. You need to see this film). Even as I finish this review, a lot of how I felt is indescribable. I fear that what I have translated from this universal language will be lost. Lost in Translation (2003).