Beautifully understated

Rating: 10/10 (14 March 2013)

"Lost in Translation" begins by focusing separately on two characters, Bob (Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), Americans arriving at a Tokyo hotel, each in a private lost world. They don't meet until fairly far into the film Before they speak to one another 32 minutes into the film, they brush at opposite ends of a crowded elevator. There is just a glance and the barest hint of a connection via Charlotte's self-conscious smile. They depart from the elevator and go their own way. That's it. This brilliant piece of editing and acting sets the tone for the entire film. Their next meetings are equally understated, and so it continues.
As the plot develops, there are moments of silence, when nothing seems to be "happening". There are moments when Bob and Charlotte are each alone in their rooms and we feel the emptiness of their lives. There are moments when they are together but silent with one another. But even as we feel their growing connection, we feel their emptiness. While the pace may lag for some viewers, the film moved along very well for me and kept me fully engaged.
The characters are in two opposite but similar worlds: In Charlotte's own words, she is "stuck". In Bob's words, he is "lost". Bob is an actor, 50-ish, who realizes that most of his life is behind him. He has fallen into a cycle of meaningless work, and while he loves his family, the tedious details of his life, whether it be posing for whiskey ads or choosing rug samples, no longer bring him joy. Charlotte, in her 20's, is barely out of college and in a marriage that clearly isn't working. She doesn't know who she is or what if anything her future holds. While he is lost in the past, she is unable to imagine her future. For both, the present lacks meaning. All this is set in a country where the incomprehensible language, along with curious customs and attitudes, reinforces their alienation and loneliness.
The characters ultimately find meaning, at least temporarily, in their connection, but perhaps not in the way they expect. The film doesn't descend into cliché and the tidy ending anticipated in most Hollywood films. This has disturbed some reviewers, but for me, the climax of the film on the crowded streets of Tokyo is all that much more powerful.
I can't finish without mentioning the cinematography. If there is any beauty to be seen in an overly large and obscenely commercialized city, it is wonderfully captured here. Yet, in keeping with the mood, the beauty as the characters view it while riding through daytime streets or gazing at the 4AM lights from their hotel windows, has a rough edge: there is emptiness as well as beauty that comes through the crowds, traffic, noise, and garish lights.
One might categorize this as a romantic comedy. While it is certainly romantic, almost painfully so, and while there are some hilarious comic moments, that particular classification doesn't fit. Most romantic comedies are made for light escapes. The fundamental mood here is serious, almost depressingly existential. Yet, unlike my feeling after viewing Coppola's subsequent film "Somewhere", I was uplifted. This film aims for and hits on an emotional level that stays with you for days.
Kudos to all involved, beginning especially Coppola (director, writer, and producer) but also the actors, cinematographers, everyone. Even after a second viewing, this film delivers.
Added 4 years later: Even after a 3rd viewing, the film delivers a punch. I'd still rate it a perfect 10.