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

The TV camera used in the scene where Bob appears on the Japanese show is an Ikegami HK-388W with a Fujinon Ah24x lens, mounted on a Vinten Vector 700 pan and tilt head - typical studio equipment.

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Goofs

In the amusement arcade where Charlotte watches the boy playing the electric guitar game, a man in a red baseball cap walks away from the camera behind the boy. In the next shot (reverse angle) the man is seen playing an arcade game using an infrared gun.

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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

Referenced in I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Minuetto"
Written by Dominic Sands
Courtesy of Promusic, Inc.

User Reviews

Lingers for days- sucks you in.

Few movies make you THINK long after they end. That's OK. Movies are supposed to entertain and most do so without requiring even one ounce of thought. It's sad that maybe some of you out there prefer movies- and life- that way. Thankfully this movie is all about thinking and feeling. This is not a chick flick. It's a human experience flick.

This film examines and lays bare the intricacies of love, life and loneliness; the claustrophobia, insomnia and disorientation of traveling to a foreign country. The loneliness that creeps in after life's normality starts to wear thin. The spark of promise that meeting someone new brings. This is what life is about and what this film so flawlessly portrays.

How many of you can relate to and have actually been that guy/girl on business, in the hotel in some foreign city, happily married yet feeling alone and beaten by life's banality? How many of us have been tempted in that very situation, to stray from the confines of moral adherence for the lure of a forbidden, if fleeting, joy? How many have felt that tingle- that spark- when a stranger smiles and you think, "you know, in another life..."? Change the time, place and all of us have been there whether we admit it or not. Maybe single people don't get this movie; maybe it's for those of us who have walked down that aisle and are wiser to the realities of life.

The characters here are true. Their dialog is true. The setting is true. It's all tirelessly fascinating because we can all relate to it and it involves us in a way that most movies do not. We find ourselves drawn to every moment these two experience together and apart. We are intrigued by the glances, nuances and words they share.

Johanssen is brilliant and beautiful as the lonely, young wife questioning her marriage. Her beauty is classic, not necessarily sexual, though she is obviously alluring in this role. Her bee-stung lips, perfect body and haunting eyes may have something to do with that. Still she's more sophisticated beauty than mindless hottie, even at 19. This is a role tailor-made for her. It could never have been Reese Witherspoon or Jessica Alba or - God forbid- Jessica Simpson, or anybody else in that realm.

Murray is simply at his best. He does "exasperated, middle-aged and depressed" better than most, with his receding hairline and frumpy body. You really believe that these two could connect in a physical and emotional way, as remote as that may seem on the surface. What other 50-something could ever be believed to be appealing to a young woman as pretty as Charlotte? That's a tough chemistry to fake and I can't think of a more perfect pair. What drives them to this attraction is what's intriguing to watch.

Go see this. Turn off your "Major Blockbuster-Tom Cruise-Action-Pop Culture Catch Phrase-Big Star" mind and tune in with a more searching self. Watch this with your soul and heart, not your eyes. If you look deeper than the surface you'll find yourself moved by the whole experience. Yes, it's THAT good.