Not What It Appears To Be

Rating: 10/10 (26 March 2006)

On the surface, Lost In Translation is an excellent movie. After the first view however, it gets more complex.
The plot is this; Bob Harris, a middle-aged actor whose star is fading, takes a trip to Japan to do a whiskey advertisement. His wife chooses not to come presumably she must take 'care' of the children. Charlotte is a newly-wed whose workaholic husband neglects but doesn't have enough courage to admit he doesn't want her there. Charlotte and Bob are both lonely people, unable to find company or solace in their work/partners. They meet by chance in a hotel bar (they are staying at the same hotel) and strike up an unusual friendship.
Sofia Coppola has perfected these characters, and gotten inside them completely, so that when watching, one can actually FEEL what the actors are feeling. The immediate attraction between Charlotte and Bob is obvious, and what they have is more than a friendship, its a total acceptance of each other, and who they are.
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson have great chemistry on screen chemistry together and perhaps this, and the excellent script, is what makes the friendship so plausible. While i watched the movie, I felt like I was there beside them each step of the way, and, I'm not ashamed to admit, my eyes did well up at the end. Truly a masterpiece.
10/10