More like a painting than a film

Rating: Null/10 (24 March 2004)

I think the film didn't really function at the plot level so much - it functioned down in the gut. Sort of like the feeling you get when you are in an art gallery and latch onto a particular piece and you stare, stare, stare until you feel the painting rather than just look at it. I can't really think of another film experience quite like it - except perhaps snatches of a Merchant-Ivory film like "Howard's End" or "Room with a View" - even though both of these examples do indeed have a plot, there are certain moments in those films that set an emotional tone that is similar to what I felt when I watched "Lost in Translation". This is an artistic film that deserves more attention than I think it will get - but I am sure glad I saw it.
Bravo.
On a side note: as good a job as Bill Murray did, it would be interesting to see a version of this film with Clint Eastwood playing the lead.