Lost in Translation (2003)

A fading movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected young wife meet as strangers in Tokyo and form an unlikely bond.

Director:

Sofia Coppola

Writer:

Sofia Coppola

Stars:

Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi

Won 1 Oscar. Another 82 wins & 63 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Scarlett Johansson	...	Charlotte
Bill Murray	...	Bob Harris
Akiko Takeshita	...	Ms. Kawasaki
Kazuyoshi Minamimagoe	...	Press Agent
Kazuko Shibata	...	Press Agent
Take	...	Press Agent
Ryuichiro Baba	...	Concierge
Akira Yamaguchi	...	Bellboy
Catherine Lambert	...	Jazz Singer
François du Bois	...	Sausalito Piano (as Francois du Bois)
Tim Leffman	...	Sausalito Guitar
Gregory Pekar	...	American Businessman #1
Richard Allen	...	American Businessman #2
Giovanni Ribisi	...	John
Daiamondo Yukai	...	Commercial Director (as Yutaka Tadokoro)

Storyline

Bob Harris is an American film actor, far past his prime. He visits Tokyo to appear in commercials, and he meets Charlotte, the young wife of a visiting photographer. Bored and weary, Bob and Charlotte make ideal if improbable traveling companions. Charlotte is looking for "her place in life," and Bob is tolerating a mediocre stateside marriage. Both separately and together, they live the experience of the American in Tokyo. Bob and Charlotte suffer both confusion and hilarity due to the cultural and language differences between themselves and the Japanese. As the relationship between Bob and Charlotte deepens, they come to the realization that their visits to Japan, and one another, must soon end. Or must they?

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Plot Keywords:

meet | photographer | commercial | hotel | japanese | 

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Taglines:

Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to come full circle

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Distributor's web site with synopsis and media Focus Features

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English Japanese German French

Release Date:

3 October 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Perdidos en Tokio

Filming Locations:

Heian Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$113,419 (Netherlands) (20 February 2004)

Gross:

£9,865,162 (UK) (26 March 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Focus Features, Tohokashinsha Film Company Ltd., American Zoetrope

Technical Specs

Runtime:

101 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Bob was asked to channel Roger Moore when shooting the Suntory commercial, but he said he liked Sean Connery better. In the real world, Sean Connery actually did commercials for Suntory.

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Goofs

When arriving in Kyoto, there is a scene of what appears to be a 700 Series Shinkansen arriving at the station implying that Charlotte had been riding the 700 Series. However, when Charlotte is shown walking away from a train, it is a much older 100 Series Shinkansen.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ms. Kawasaki: Welcome to Tokyo.
Bob: Thank you very much.
Ms. Kawasaki: My name is Kawasaki. Nice to meet you.
Bob: I've heard of you. Thank you.

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Crazy Credits

At the end of the closing credits, a Japanese woman waves to the camera.

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Connections

References Road to Perdition (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Love Gun"
(1979)
Written by Rick James
Performed by Rick James
Courtesy of Motown Records
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Lost Souls

It's been a long time since a movie has made me hurt the way this one did. Perhaps "hurt" isn't the right word. "Ache" is more like it. I could so completely identify with both characters.

Bob is a middle-aged actor caught in a life which has lost its zest and purpose, doing what he "ought" to be doing (making money doing whiskey commercials) instead of doing what he WANTS to do (plays). And then a young, beautiful, intelligent woman enters his orbit. On that level alone, with its mute longing and sexual tension, I can identify with him.

And then there is Charlotte, a student of philosophy seeking herself, her soul lost and adrift. She doesn't know who she is, doesn't know what she wants. Her life is a quest for authenticity of self. And I identify with her because so much of my life I have been seeking the same thing.

This movie isn't for everyone. They will call it boring, lifeless, limp. There are people, I realize, who have never experienced that kind of longing, who had never sought meaning in their lives, and searched for their own lost souls. They live for the here and now, without giving a thought to the spiritual aspects of life.

A friend said introverts will love this movie, extraverts will hate it. I think that is a fair surface assessment. This movie is all about the inner lives of two people whose souls connect for a brief time in an alien city. It is a love affair not of bodies, but of minds and spirits.

Some this movie will make angry. Some this movie will make weep.