Subtle and Beautiful

Rating: 8/10 (30 August 2004)

What is it to be `lost in translation'? Maybe it's not just the difficulty in understanding a different language. Maybe being `lost in translation' is a happening that occurs everyday, when one human being can not understand the speech or actions of another. Sofia Coppola brilliantly explores topics such as these in the comedy entitled Lost in Translation.
This film takes place in the city of Tokyo, Japan, and it explores the friendship between aging actor Bob Harris, played quite well by Bill Murray, and young newlywed Charlotte, wonderfully acted by Scarlett Johansson. Both characters seem to be struggling with life, going through a stage in which they are tired of going through the motions. The similarities of these two characters are obvious to the viewer, but the two still make an unlikely match, a match made all the more unlikely by the fact that they meet each other in the large city of Tokyo.
The most brilliant aspect of this movie is subtlety. Although the film is technically a comedy, there's no gag humor or imposing jokes. Instead there is a quiet that seems to allow the viewer to focus more on the characters and their needs. The collection of music compiled for this film also fits perfectly with this atmosphere. Also, the film IS genuinely funny, but this is not to say that there are times when it works as a quiet drama. This furthermore shows the brilliance of Coppola's story and screenplay. The one flaw in the film is one short scene, which seems to be completely pointless and raunchy, and it is this flaw that keeps this movie from the perfection that it almost so silently achieves.
Finally, the ending of the film alone makes it worth seeing. Instead of laying things out plainly, it instead leaves the viewer to wonder and hypothesize. What a beautiful piece of work this is, that focuses on its own characters, but keeps the thoughts of the viewer in mind at all times.
Final Grade: A.