aspiring actors and directors: pay close attention to this gem

Rating: Null/10 (30 September 2003)

Seeing Lost In Translation for a second time really sealed this as the best film I will end up seeing this year. From top to bottom it is a powerhouse of quality acting, excellent writing and premiere directing. Sofia Coppola has a rich future ahead if she can keep cranking out films with this level of class.
The special effects, provacotive sexuality and spooon fed ideals that plague most films and keep viewers attached to the frequent outpouring of Hollywood sludge are not neccesary in a film like this. Coppola captures a world that is genuine and strikingly realistic. You often forget that you are watching a movie, let alone watching actors "act". Murray delivers perhaps the best performance I have seen in over 3-4 years as a troubled, confused and yet somewhat placid mid life movie star who comes across the young and also somewhat alienated Charlotte, portrayed with amazing conviction by Scarlett Johannsen. Murray's "Bob Harris" is what acting is all about. His work in this film is exactly what one wants from a standout performance - integrity, honesty and a bit of real conviction. Always staying true to the character he is portraying, Murray delivers the highlight of his career here. An Oscar should be waiting for him....
Coppola creates and displays these charecters - warts and all - with a rich attention to backdrop and detail. Her depiction of Tokyo could pass for a visual guidebok. Sounds, images, shapes, people...there is a level of visual examination here that most filmmakers have to skewer and manipulate in order to transport the viewer to their desired point of persepctive. Here, Coppola only needs to show Tokyo as it is to create an atmosphere that her charecters can experience and utilize.
I cant tell you how nice it was to buy a movie ticket, sit down in my seat, and watch a film that was so real, so honest and so genuine. I am so tired of watching movies that get by only because of their shock value, or their special effects, or their attractive A list cast. Films like this make the aforementioned efforts looks kind of silly, and I must admit, that fact brought a smile to my face - one that hasnt been there in awhile.

Lost In Translation will age like wine, and with the years this could be viewed as a seminal film in our new century of filmmaking.

**** out of ****