Sexless, Vulnerable, Extraordinary Intimacy

Rating: 7/10 (4 October 2003)

A couple distills, develops and preserves an extraordinary intimacy with their unspoken but deliberate and determinate decision of not having sex. For grownups who have learned how to handle sex, emotion, and relationship, this sexless intimacy may be possible only conditionally. In the case of Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johansson's innocence and Bill Murray's sense of lost snowballs untouchable vulnerability between their interactions. It's fairytale-ish, miraculous, obviously rare, but highly coveted, proven by the film's smash hit (in a small budget film scale).
The description of Tokyo, especially its subculture scene, is surprisingly unbiased and harshly real. Kudos to director Sofia Coppola who captured the very true moment of a Japanese punkster, singing a Sex Pistols line "There is no future in England" in a karaoke bar.