The refuge of reinventing yourself as a different character

Rating: 10/10 (28 February 2006)

Lost In Translation is an original story on the delicate subject of missing opportunities in life. It is all about spontaneous connections, about trusting and caring for more than conservation instincts when passing through difficult times, about platonic interpretation of feelings and internal beliefs. Sofia Coppola introduces the normal, average watcher, into a world that might not seem (at first glance)as special as the one of science fiction/horror movies, as it resembles to our own in almost every aspect except for the one of revelations. In such an environment, that is almost the same and yet different from the character's expectations, the internal compass of any person begins to malfunction, while the knowledge of the particular elements we reject each day at the level of traits amplifies itself in a totally unexpected way. Only in such a place will human conscience become aware of all a person's failures in life, as here loneliness and fame taste more bitter than anywhere else. On the other hand, only in such a place will the individual be given a new opportunity of redemption. The characters interpreted by Murray and Johansson are in a similar situation, they despite their marriage by understanding the mediocrity of their status in life and their constant lack of ontological freedom. Moreover,only by association will unsatisfaction be removed: an association that does not imply sexual attraction or pathological possession, but only the profound friendship between persons that do not expect anything from each other. In a way, Lost In Translation is a film about refuges, profound refuges necessary in the case of being objective enough to understand that the world is beyond balance or purpose. The film expresses the common questions of any interrogative subject, without offering theoretical solutions, but practical ways of understanding reality. It suggests that a certain individual may be seen as a loser as a result of the superior quality of its dreams,which did not offer the possibility to be fulfilled. On the other hand,such an individual might also represent a conqueror, if he accepts the responsibility implied by the strength of his most desperate ideals. Therefore,a loser is not the equivalent of a mediocre being, since such a person might offer metaphysical solutions to problems and accept the pain of not being strong enough to be promoted at the level of God. All these philosophical problems and more are debated in this film in a unique and subtle way, which gives the impression of a labyrinth without walls. The correct message can be understood only by appealing to internal knowledge and by surpassing all possible forms of nihilism. In the end, as Johansson's character suggests, "nobody talks about these things". That is why Coppola's film should have been reinvented if it hadn't already existed in the protean subconscious of particular images...