Lost In Translation

This is truly one of the best movies in 2003. Sofia Coppola has done a marvelous job at making a movie about a relationship that is deep yet not sexual.

Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a former action actor at the end of his career. He goes to Japan to promote some whisky for some easy money and a break from his wife and kids from a 25 year marriage. He's experiencing total jetlag and an uncomfortable feeling of being out of place because he doesn't understand anything there in Tokyo.

Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is the wide of hotshot photographer, John (Giovanni Ribisi). John is in Japan for some work and Charlotte is left behind during the days. She just graduated, has just been married for two years, is jetlagged and feels totally lost in Tokyo because she doesn't understand anything.

Since they both stay at the same hotel, something evolves. First it was the late night drinking at the bar, then bumping at the pool and then they went on a night out with Charlotte's crazy Japanese friends. Bob and Charlotte find comfort in each other because each of them are as lost as the other there in Tokyo. Not just in the city, but also in life. As their relationship grows deeper, they are aware that they will have to leave each other and go back to normal life.

Coppola did an amazing job with the screenplay and direction. She showed that even though Tokyo is a huge metropolitan city, the culture is just different. She goes into the video arcade, where all the games are different than the ones we normally see. Then there is the traffic, the big city lights, the clubs, the nightlife (karaoke anyone?), the way Japanese people talk, and the funny Japanese version of Johnny Carson.

Just like her husband (is she and Spike still together?) Sofia Coppola has a knack for showing something different. This time she made a movie which is a real-life situation with real-life endings. Something that makes a movie-goer think about life.

Oh, and the music is so cool...