A one in a million kind of film

Rating: 7/10 (2 January 2014)

Who would have thought that Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson would have such great chemistry? Not me until I saw this masterpiece of cinematography a few weeks ago. I did not have much of an interest in watching this movie when I first heard how great it was and decided to watch it. After viewing it, I realized I wished I'd seen it sooner.
Bob Harris (Murray) is an actor who has arrived in Tokyo to shoot a commercial. Charlotte (Johansson) is a young woman who married young and is in Tokyo with her husband (Giovanni Ribsi) who is a celebrity photographer on business. Harris is going through a mid-life crisis while Charlotte feels she made a mistake marrying when she was so young. The two will form an unlikely bond with one another and take the audience on an experience through their different worlds and problems. The slow pace of the film helps it feel like the buildup of their relationship is actually taking time instead of happening all at once. The two share a lot of things in common, including having problems with where they are in life right now and a feeling of loneliness which adds depth to both the characters and their relationship. Instead of telling the story about these two very different yet very similar people form an emotional connection with each other, the film takes you on the experience they have and how the connection between them grows.
The visuals and setting of the film in Tokyo provides for an interesting location that plays a role in adding depth to the story and characters using its subtle symbolism. Both Bob and Charlotte feel alienated in their lives as if they do not belong there, and Tokyo to them is an unfamiliar and alien place to them with a different culture and language then they're used to.
I thought Scarlett Johansson was an okay actress from the performance I witnessed in the 'Marvel' films "Iron Man 2" and "The Avengers", but her performance in this made me realize how talented she is and has made her one of my favorite actresses. Bill Murray I already liked and knew was good actor from his performance in "Ghostbusters", but this shows he can do comedy as well as serious drama. I would actually love to see Murray do some more serious roles because you can tell he is built for both funny and serious with his performance in this. Another good acting job in the film was Anna Faris of the "Scary Movie" franchise as an American actress named Kelly.
The best part of the whole film is the relationship that Bob and Charlotte share with one another. We get a front row seat as the two take the audience on a journey through the experience they shared together and how it shaped their relationship. The two have great chemistry and have a strong relationship that the audience wants to route for. The best part of the relationship, I think, is that it allows the audience to believe what they want to believe with it. I personally believe that it is just a very strong friendship that they share while others think that they have some romantic chemistry between them. Whatever the case is, I like that it took the chance and the film did not tell us, but instead lets the individual viewer believe what they take from it all.
"Lost in Translation" is a one in a million film that while simple in premise is deep in all other areas. Murray and Johansson have good chemistry, the setting of the film plays an interesting role in symbolizing how the two feel, there are good performances in the movie, and the film allows us to decide what we want about the two, "Lost in Translation" is a modern day masterpiece and dives into great detail about a simple bond that two people share.