You had to have been there to understand this film

Rating: Null/10 (8 August 2004)

I think that only people who have been in Japan or traveled extensively overseas will understand this film.
It's really about two things: First, the little love affairs that can crop up when you're away from home in a strange country and how out of place a person can feel in a different culture.
I have worked overseas in many countries, including Japan, for many years and I can tell you that it can be difficult to do even the most simple thing if you do not speak the language, or sometimes even if you do. This was one of the topics that the film touched on, hence the title, "Lost in Translation." In addition, believe it or not, the United States is not the center of the universe and there are a wealth of cultures out there who function quite well doing things differently than us. For example, the fast food restaurants (e.g., McDonalds, Burger King, etc) I've visited are usually better than the ones in the states; surprising, considering that we invented the things! This is small thing but an important point.
In addition, when you spend considerable time away from home in a foreign country, having even a friendship with someone from your land can be like being handed a lift preserver in the ocean. It's better to have someone to "hang onto" during such times and I think this was one of the themes of the film.
With respect to Japanese stereotypes, well, they do the same thing to us, don't they? I mean, I get the feeling that the Japanese do have preconceived notions about us, as we do about them.
Overall, while the film may not have the "action" that some people need in a motion picture, Lost in Translation worked for me and I give it a 7 out of 10.
I will end this review with one humorous story. I was working in Hachinoe, Japan back in 1987 and after walking around a bit, decided to see a Japanese war movie (I thought it would be interesting to see how Americans were depicted); this was an effort as I was not sure of the show times, etc (duh... everything is in Japanese). When I got into the theater, there was a scene depicting American aircraft attacking a Japanese aircraft carrier during World War II. I almost laughed out loud when a scene showed OUR planes diving Kamikaze style into their ships! How's that for a role reversal? It's all about perception.
CN