No words will ever do this film justice

Rating: 10/10 (8 October 2008)

Celebrity Bob Harris (Murray) is over in Tokyo to promote a whisky and Charlotte (Johansson) is over with her husband, and both find they have a lot in common.
Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides) writes and directs a magnificent story about loneliness in which Bill Murray (Groundhog Day) and Scarlett Johansson (Girl with a Pearl Earring) deliver brilliant performances in this Oscar nominated drama.
Murray's reputation is recognized here as he deservedly received his first Oscar nomination as actor Bob Harris, a man going through a mid-life crisis and Murray's deadpan and sarcastic talents are well executed to add comedy to the drama, and create perfect realism of a middle aged man struggling with work and his family.
Johansson gives a good account of herself as Charlotte, a recently married woman not knowing where to go in life. The actress' delicate approach to her character delivers strong emotion as we feel for her, all alone in a strange place and not knowing where to go and what to do.
The star of the show is Coppola, whose direction and writing help achieve these feelings for the characters. Coppola takes the genre and situation into account and with point of view and long shots help achieve the essential realism. The sweeping shots of Japan are very artistic and create a uniqueness and sophisticated look at the culture.
The very brief scenes showing the characters travelling or just in their rooms show everyday routines and add a delicate feel to the character's lives.
One of the main ideologies of this film is the Japanese culture, which was very intriguing to watch. As we follow Bob and Charlotte around, we are getting their interpretations of the surroundings, and are placed in different scenarios from America, such as a cook your own food restaurant, an eccentric mad talk show and the translation to be key.
The way the Japanese speak and their language is triggered by interpreters, and creates some controversial black comedy, and the feeling the character's get is very genuine, and make you wonder how you would react under similar circumstances.
Lost in Translation has everything a comedy drama needs. Two terrific leads, comedy and drama, and excellent realistic direction to make a heart warming and sentimental film, which no words will ever do it justice.