Toward a culture of the heart

Rating: Null/10 (2 October 2003)

What Bob Harris feels in in his heart cannot be translated. As a
middle-aged movie star visiting Japan, he goes through the
motions of smiling and saying nice things to his hosts and fans,
they all smile back, and the ache inside of him remains unknown.
He talks to his wife about the kids and remodelling the study, she
says she misses him, they hang up, and his ache grows. There is
a sorrow inside of him that he doesn't even attempt to
communicate.
What Charlotte, a recent graduate in philosophy, feels cannot be
translated either. She embraces her photographer husband in
their hotel room in Tokyo as he rushes off to a photo shoot, and
she cries as soon as the door shuts behind him. She wanders
through the foreign city and countryside, visiting shrines, game
rooms, clubs, etc. in search of things that might bring happiness.
She too has a sorrow that she doesn't even attempt to communicate.
The difference between Charlotte and Bob is that Charlotte still
seems to be searching for something more--buying self-help
CDs, examining different religions, etc.--whereas the older Bob
seems to have given up, preferring to hang out at the bar and
drown out his ache. But when the two of them discover each other
in the same hotel, they are drawn to each by the sheer suction
created by the vacuum in their hearts--helped along, perhaps, by
their shared status as foreigners.
This movie succeeds through a series of images, looks on the
actors' faces, gestures, and an eerily genuine chemistry. It as if the
movie itself is lost in translation as the scenery and acting
combine to convey powerful feelings of attraction, loss, loneliness,
wonder, and ultimately love. Yes, love. Since both characters are
married, perhaps the reason we never hear they same "I love you"
to each other is that cultural taboos hold them back. But they
whisper something to each other at the end--something that
means love whether the word is used or not--and we know that for
these Americans in Japan the culture of the heart has prevailed
and inexpressible sorrow has become inexpressible joy.

Lost in Translation was a beautiful, genuine, and finally very
honest and daring film.