Harmonic, tranquil... er, sedative, snooze-worthy

Rating: 5/10 (22 October 2006)

Some films are acquired tastes; there are readily-molded Hollywood blockbusters that leave nothing up for interpretation and then there are desperately quirky, off-beat and artsy 'gems' that leave everything up for interpretation. It is not rocket science to see that Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation mercilessly falls into the latter category. I have great difficulty in enjoying both extremes and tend to prefer more balanced films which is why I never truly took a liking to this film. That, and it sadly never manages to elevate itself above generic 'psuedo-indie' formula.
Perhaps this label is unjustly applied because, on a basic level, Lost in Translation is a strangely enjoyable film about two strangely interesting characters. A 50-year-old man (Bill Murray) and a 20-something woman (Scarlett Johansson) find each other in the exile of the hotel bar in Tokyo; they are both lonely, jaded, and utterly bored with life and thus begin an unlikely friendship in the midst of having nothing to do. Unfortunately, Coppola never lets us get to know them besides that. Instead we follow the two only through an introspective zooming between them and their Tokyo environment, thereby pinning culture contrasts somewhere in between and the latter provides for some laughs in the film.
The majority of this steadicam documentary stalking of Murray and Johansson is a listless, lifeless and pointless diversion that can only be entertaining to viewers who are totally oblivious to Japanese culture as the film clearly expects us to find the mere clichéd culture contrasts to be "breathtaking". Nevertheless, the photography is beautiful and seamlessly snaps up the locations in Japan; you want pick out every scene, frame it and hang it on your wall for the sheer cinematography of it. Soon this process plays on for far longer than it should and Lost in Translation wears out its welcome, clumsily falling back on a plot that is thinner than an Olsen twin. In other words, nothing else happens in the story besides harmonic visuals.
This undoubtedly gives rise to a peculiar pace and this is where the 'acquired taste' truly kicks in. It moves slowly. Real slowly. Some say it epitomizes subtlety and Japanese tranquility and certainly it does; regrettably, it also falls prey to a truly sedative flow. If you were 'hypnotized' by this like many fans claim, it was probably because you were snoozing off. Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray certainly do not facilitate things plot-wise either. Here the film aptly showcases Murray's frighteningly limited range in inhabiting the 'poker-faced cynical middle-aged man' role that he recycles for every comedy and it pairs it with Johansson's comatose charisma and non-acting.
As you can see, I am greatly conflicted when it comes to Lost in Translation. There is an admirable cinematic harmony in the film but it treads the balance between poignancy and pointlessness all too often and no doubt it tips over into listless nothingness a few times too many...
5 out of 10