Much better the second time........................................................

Rating: 8/10 (25 January 2005)

I would have to agree with others on this site that "Lost In Translation" is often better appreciated on a second viewing. I wasn't much impressed with the movie the first time I saw it. Initially, the"Charlotte" character seemed to be much too self-interested. She came across (as acted by Scarlett Johansson) as nothing much more than an awkward if precocious child. I also thought that the relationship between Charlotte and the Bill Murray character (Bob Harris) was a little too cute and contrived. The Tokyo presented in the movie seemed a weary and confusing way-station on a journey to nowhere. My attention continually flagged on the first viewing.
When I viewed L.I.T.again (six months later) I came away with a much better opinion. The movie is very effective- after all -in telling the story of an unlikely friendship between two people drawn together completely by chance but both engaged in a common struggle to come to terms with their lives. Coppola has to be given credit for the clarity and thoroughness of how the story is told. There are few if any purely incidental scenes that I can find--every step is set out with a purpose (often with a dual purpose). As an example -the scene with Bob Harris and the Japanese "premium fantasy girl" is,at first glance, done just for laughs --and it is funny. However, coming as early in the movie as it does, it was designed to show that the Bill Murray character is not a pig (not all of the time at least). When offered a prostitute --he sends her back. This idea is reinforced later as Bob and Charlotte form a bond which doesn't quite reach the level of sex. The movie does have a clear "women's sensibility" in that respect.The idea of intimacy without sex intruding is not something that many male directors have explored. It isn't till late in the film that we see that Murray's character is indeed interested in sex.... He does sleep with the hotel lounge singer for the express purpose of showing the audience that he does have the impulse.
The relationship between Bob and Charlotte is cloudy in some respects. It remains platonic however there are hints of the "sex thing" lurking out there. Curiously enough Coppola goes to the trouble of offering some "cover" for Bob and Charlotte to have sex by letting us glimpse their marital frustrations. This is especially true in the case of Charlotte as we are shown her husband's mild infatuation with a Hollywood bimbo. In the case of Bob we are allowed to glimpse the cold nature of his marriage by comments his wife makes (or doesn't make) as they talk over the phone. But --in the end--this "cover" is only used to justify the intimacy of Bob and Charlotte's friendship.
The Tokyo of the movie, for me anyway, comes to represent life. Life is sometimes like being a foreigner in Tokyo --with all its excitement(and dreary boredom), confusion--the feeling of being lost and adrift - and the seeking.
One aspect of the movie that I have not seen discussed in the IMDb reviews is the effect of Bob's celebrity on Charlotte. He is described as being "washed up" -however everything is relative. He is still making $2 million dollars for a couple of Tokyo photo shoots --he is still an easily recognizable celebrity. One wonders if Charlotte would have approached and sought a relationship with Bob if he was just a 53 year old businessman visiting Tokyo. In "real life" Bob's celebrity would have been the crux of the relationship--but In the movie it seems almost incidental to the story. It is interesting to speculate as to what the movie would have been like if they had chosen to dispense with Bob's celebrity status.
I usually don't like "women's movies"--romances etc.......I think everyone can agree that the saving grace of the film is that the two main characters don't sleep together---It gives the movie a sweet tilt....... O.K.-I must be getting soft or having a mid-life crisis. It does however give me a warm and fuzzy feeling to think that there must be some girl out there--fresh out of college -who might adore me for all of my sensitivity and vulnerability--..well...I hope my wife doesn't read this review.