brilliant

Rating: 9/10 (8 September 2004)

There is a friend of mine who is now in Tokyo,staying at the same hotel as the characters in the movie.She once called me at 9 p.m my time.She sounded a bit depressed,a bit lonely and definitely lost.At the end of the conversation I asked her what the local time was.She replied "3 a.m but you can't get too much sleep in Tokyo".Sounds familiar?A hint - a week later I received a letter from that friend saying she felt exactly as if she was the heroine in Lost in Translation. I think that this is the best compliment one can make to Lost in Translation and Sofia Copolla.What she did was describe in every detail the way a foreigner feels in Tokyo - an alien,lost on a strange planet.And she succeeded.I study Japanese language and culture at university so I can tell you that the movie is the best attempt so far to describe the modern Japanese lifestyle.Everything a foreigner has to now about Japan is in there. Talking about Lost in translation I simply MUST tell you about the first time I saw the film.I went to the movie theatre together with my best friend,also studying Japanese.I don't remember ever seeing the audience respond in such a way to a movie.Everyone was giggling with laughter. Anyway,I don't think that any comments can do justice to this masterpiece,so I'll stop here.Enjoy being Lost in Translation.