Shoegazing : Skywatching

Rating: 8/10 (27 March 2017)

Lost in Translation is a beautiful and well made cinema.
Single thought : If there was one thing movie was trying to say is that we all are just vaguely living our half lives, unsure of our hazy present. But we can at any time grab what life is offering, accepting its incomprehensible course (lost). Overall: 8/10
Story and screenplay : Well written. It is more sketching of characters and dwelling into them. Extremely grounded, there is not much else happening which is fine since one can dive deep into extremely relatable characters and common life issues being faced by them. Most of movie is about our two main characters trying to make sense out of world around. Be it language barrier scene for Bob, various enigmatic views of Tokyo, or alone trip to Kyoto. Again, So much is lost in making sense of every thing going around. But then again, why don't accept what is gained and be reactive to it. Overall: 8/10
Cinematography: Its purposeful cinematography mostly. But experimentation is vast in other parts. Bridge scene of Tokyo being one such stand out. We are mostly kept in wide range to take characters along with their environment and not independent of them, at all times. Overall : 7/10
Editing: Very edgy and thought provoking. Every time a scene cuts, one is left wondering and interpreting. While sudden cuts work well in most cases, it did seem rather shoved in for sake of it. Overall: 6/10
Acting : oh how amazing Bill Murray is. Perfectly projecting crisis he is into. But Scarlett wins the show hands down. You have to watch movie to know how perfectly both roles have been projected. Support cast had minimum work to do but were did fine job too. Overall: 9/10
Direction and tone: Sofia Coppola does fine job of going the hard way and believing in purpose of movie. Movie is grounded, close to reality and tone melds in very well. It stays true to exploration of personalities and answering common life questions. At no point characters are made to look silly due to emotions. Quirky humor here and there fits perfectly. Surely pace could have been improved. Editing could have been more meaningful. Story could have few more elements but overall a great job. Overall: 8/10
Music, locations, and costumes : Use of alternate music genres with likes of My bloody Valentine and Air well used. Music is so important in the film that there is a whole 5 minutes scene with nothing but drunk people on karaoke. Music here reflects lost, edgy, yet melodious qualities that the movie is trying hard to project. Locations are spellbinding. Tokyo is mostly seen from above the horizon with city and locations itself an integral part of story. We see so many shots of Tokyo both from inside and out in the sky(if it ever is visible in Tokyo) that we bow down to its dominating powerful and chaotic presence. Overall : 9/10
Final thought: go watch with patience, absorb characters, relate, start living them as movie progresses, and come out as a better person and have great experience watching good cinema.