Sofia Coppola's masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (9 February 2004)

Sofia Coppola's THE VIRGIN SUICIDES promised a lot from the young director, and with LOST IN TRANSLATION she's without doubt one of the finest female directors around today. This is utterly a masterpiece, such a fascinating, heartfelt and romantic movie that I kept wishing that it was me that was lost in Tokyo, wondering the hotel and streets, wanting be to be found be someone or something, so I could ease my heart and mind. The wonderful silence and heartbeat of the movie is glorious in a unique way, and both Scarlett and Bill delivers grand performances, both worthy an Oscar statue if you ask me. And with the slow-pacing atmosphere surrounding the movie, it's the way it combines romantic drama with fine comedy that truly catches fire at times, making such a special movie and making it a must in any cinema-lover's collection. You would gladly stay up late with someone like Scarlett (since I'm a boy) as you can feel her depression and loneliness in those empty hours as her busy husband (fine supporting character by Giovanni Ribisi) leaves the hotel room early and returns late, and you can feel Bill/Bob's "midlife-crisis" and depression as he combines exercise with cigars and whiskey, wife-on-the-phone and "kids getting used to him not being around". LOST IN TRANSLATION couldn't have been any better, it's a down-tuned piece of cinema art and is one of my favourite movies.