Lost and Found

Rating: 10/10 (4 February 2004)

I admit to being romantic by nature, but Lost in Translation, a sweet and genuinely gentle film, could make a romantic out of Al Gore. It may not be possible to watch this film without personalizing its message, without seeing ourselves and our relationships in it, and pining for lost romances or ones never had. Perhaps that is why this film affected me so, but I doubt that I am the only one who watched it and felt that way. As a middle aged male, clearly I identified with Bill Murray's character, a man who, viewed from the outside, has the perfect life, but who, under the veneer, is lost and misses the connections that we all wish to have with someone in whom we can be in love. He has, in the film, however, settled into his life, married to a woman who appears to care more about the details of remodling their homes than she does Murray's ramshackle emotional state. Murray accepts his role as provider, as husband, and as father, even though the role is unrewardingly one-sided. Many viewers, I am sure, saw themselves in his character and felt a connection with him.
Scarlett Johansson, by the way, is wonderful as the young married woman who Murray meets while in Japan filming a whiskey commercial. Johansson has a quality about her that is so alluring that it sometimes overwhelms her role. In this case, though, she is perfect. Frankly, I can't see how anyone could avoid falling in love with her.
This film is a rare treat; please see it and support other films like it. We owe it to ourselves to encourage the movie industry to produce more films like Lost in Translation and fewer formulaic copies of past commercial successes.