"Lost in Translation" Not Lost in Translation

Rating: Null/10 (18 April 2004)

I'm a Japanese and has just returned from seeing "Lost in Translation," which opened today in Tokyo. Having read some negative reviews, particularly from the perspective of "stereotyping" of the Japanese, I expected the movie might not be very enjoyable, but I find it fascinating instead and actually laughed many times watching the movie.
I think that the movie captures fairly well how contemporary Japan, in which modern, busy parts are mixed with old, serene traditions in a chaotic way, looks to the two Americans who have little knowledge about or interest in the country they are staying. I can understand well that they feel lost, surrounded by a language, people, and customs they are not familiar with.
With regard to the pronunciation of English words, I think that any Japanese who has once learned English knows that it is very difficult to make a distinction between "L" and "R", as there is no such distinction in Japanese. And I understand well that would be funny to native speakers of English, as the two Americans in the movie.
But I think that would be the case when you hear foreigners speaking your mother tongue, not limited to English. I'm happy to tell my friends coming from abroad that it is not easy for Japanese to make distinctions not only between "L" and "R", but also between "B" and "V", "TH" and "S" and some others.
On the scene of the elevator, showing that the leading actor is taller than the Japanese around him, I think it is true that the Japanese are shorter in average, and this scene suggests that he feels a little out of place. Actually, being too tall does not necessarily has positive implications in Japan.
I think the scene of the prostitute is a little overdone. And the scene of the nude dancers would not be really necessary to the plot of the movie. But such dancers do exist in Tokyo, and you could go to see them if you would like to, however disturbing that might be.
I think it is true that Japanese characters in U.S. movies tend to be portrayed as one-dimensional, lacking emotional or intellectual depth, but that is not new, and Japanese are all aware of that. As far as I understand, the focus of the movie is not on forming a relationship between the two Americans and the Japanese surrounding them, but rather lack of it, corresponding to their lives back in their home country. In that sense, I think it would be appropriate for the movie to emphasize that they don't understand what the Japanese are talking or doing around them.
Some people might enjoy laughing at the Japanese who mix "L" and "R", but as far as I'm concerned, I'm rather amused by the Americans who are confused in a foreign country of which they have little knowledge. I guess there might be even some Americans who are offended by this portrayal of their fellow citizens as being ignorant and arrogant.
YARIME Masaru