A movie with aimlessness at its core...Murray is grounded but film intentionally meanders

Rating: 6/10 (5 September 2005)

Despite an occasional misstep, I felt writer-director Sofia Coppola's sure-hand throughout this slight, occasionally lovely film about isolation finding an outlet in admiration. While not a love story per se, "Lost in Translation" is charming and almost-romantic as it ambles along, bringing two kindred spirits together. Coppola seems to excel in a forlorn melancholy that is as beautiful as it is perplexing (you may wonder, "where is she going with this?", but then just as quickly realize that a schedule here isn't the purpose). Bill Murray has some funny moments, and he is surprisingly at home with Coppola's low-key approach. There are a few awkward stops (an outburst at a party is perhaps more fuzzy than anything else), but Murray is comfortable in his scenes with quiet, dreamy-eyed Scarlett Johansson, and their repartee is beguiling. The simple plot--about the alienation any human being would feel in a foreign country--is character-driven, so it seems very slim (particularly in retrospect). Coppola lets sequences breathe and take their own shape; she stays out of Murray's way, but also manages to keep the actor grounded. The alt-rock soundtrack is moody and interesting, and the picture has an unfettering eye for the craziness of a desperately with-it Tokyo. **1/2 from ****