Worth Getting Lost In.

Rating: 9/10 (11 September 2015)

Lost in Translation (2003): Dir: Sophia Coppola / Cast: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Francois Du Bois: Wonderful film about understanding and culture. It stars Bill Murray as a movie star in Tokyo to shoot a whiskey commercial. Scarlett Johansson plays the young wife of a workaholic photographer whom she joins in Tokyo but it seems that he hasn't time for her. She and Murray encounter each other at the hotel bar when they cannot face their isolation any longer. They form a unique friendship that is just this side of an affair yet their ages wedge between such a fate. Well written with a satisfactory conclusion that couldn't end any other way. Insightful direction by Sofia Coppola who previously made The Virgin Suicides. This is easily one of Murray's greatest performances particularly his lack of understanding to the language around him. Solid performance from Johansson who drifts from a routine marriage and experiences forbidden freedom. Giovanni Ribisi as Johansson's husband is too brief and obvious and seems only to function to leave. Why not just write Johansson as single, or find a more constructive manner to write in the husband. Anna Faris provides a brief but fetching performance as an action star who strikes a connection with Johansson and company. It regards the language of communication in a film worth getting lost in. Score: 9 ½ / 10