1/2 comedy, 1/2 love story= 1 hit

Rating: Null/10 (22 September 2003)

The first piece of good news: "Lost" is the first independent film, in case anybody was watching, that penetrated the "Top 10" since the beginning of the summer. None of the summer's indies, no matter how praised, got there till now. Thankfully, Bill Murray is a name that still gets some box office attention, especially from 20-somethings like me that grew up with his stuff.

The bad news: "Lost" is not a Bill Murray movie, at least not like Scrooged, Ghostbusters, or Groundhog Day. This is the other guy who's trying his hand at Hamlet (well done), Rushmore (ditto) and The Royal Tenenbaums (??) He's not going for slapstick, though certainly still a physical comedian. The comedy of "Lost" seems to transform halfway through into a somber love story about two drifters, both married unhappily, in the wrong place...but maybe at the right time.
More good news: "Lost in Translation" relies on moments, not plot, and the moments work. The hospital waiting room scene, and all the Santori scenes, are hysterical, and even when the comedy erodes, Murray is ABLE TO HOLD HIS OWN DRAMATICALLY. That was the revelation for me: we've seen Murray try to be serious in his comedies, whether repentant or reflective, without getting at us. However, he finds that balance here between a melancholy and a lighthearted guy who's falling in love in spite of himself.

Speaking of balancing moments, the last ten minutes are a great balancing act between Johannson and Murray as they try saying goodbye in a formal, easy way over and over again until finally giving in at the last minute. The emotion works and clarifies a lot of what's been unsaid up to that point, though given the secretive nature of the ending, there's still some unsaid to the audience.

The other interesting issue here is the way the movie rather haphazardly depicts Japan, or at least the city of Tokyo, as a hyperactive land of (fill in the blank) imbeciles? bourgeoisie? really really shallow short people? techno-addicts? imbeciles? party people? Every time Johansson escapes from the city, she seems to find the good in the culture, but Murray seems disgusted throughout a lot of the movie (though he does love the music). Then again, better to be honest than politically correct...

I agree that "Lost in Translation" is Murray's best shot to get an Oscar nomination: much like Jack Nicholson in last year's "About Schmidt," he has put in a quiet tragicomic effort that hits home. ***.5 Johansson's character more than holds her own with Murray, despite the age factor: he plays young, she plays it old. One of the best scenes in regards to that is the sad-sack Murray cheering up the despairing Johansson with the line "You're not hopeless," which is such a reversal of who'd normally give the punches in the shoulder...
So 5 questions for Sofia Coppola: (Sofia, feel free to write back) 1.To what degree is this autobiographical?
2.Did you write this with Murray in mind, and if not, how'd he get there?
3.Why is the first shot of Johansson's butt? (Not that I'm complaining, especially given the alternative of Murray's butt.)
4.Tell us everything about how the scene with the short Japanese woman in the hospital waiting room came together.
5.Do you think, and how do you think, this will play in Japan?