A daring and different film- all around a must see

Rating: 9/10 (26 September 2003)

Sophia Coopola is a director whom I somewhat felt skeptical about. Did she have a career in the motion picture industry because of family ties, or is there real talent lurking inside of her. After seeing Lost In Translation I without a doubt believe her to be a marvelous new voice in modern cinema. This is a film that to me can be summed up by one word- touching. It is hard to go to movies about men and women now a day and not be caught up in all the regular clichés that so often have to pop up to tell a story. Coopola uses her own original voice to tell a deep tale of personal relationship between two people lost on the road of life. Without telling a mushy love story or some unbelievable romance she tells a story about humans. One is a recently married girl (Scarlett Johansson) who is confused about marriage and her future. The other is an aging actor (Bill Murray) who is in midlife crisis and has no idea where he is heading. But the third character in this multilayered piece is the city of Tokyo, from its huge foreboding cities and lights to its magical mountains and temples. It is a character with just as many sides as the humans, which makes it a perfect place for the two to meet and come to terms with themselves. I don't want to go on and on with plot details but you will laugh at it's comedy, see two of the best performances of this year, and actually walk away feeling touched - which is rare and unusual in a motion picture now a days. 9/10