Skip to content
Paul Greenwood reviews
- Cert:
- Running time: 102 minutes
- Year: 2003
- Released: 9th January 2004
- Widescreen Ratio: 1.85:1
- Rating: 9/10
Director:
- Sofia Coppola
(The Virgin Suicides)
Cast:
- Bob Harris: Bill Murray
Charlotte: Scarlett Johansson
John: Giovanni Ribisi
Singer: Catherine Lambert
Director: Yutaka Tadokoro
Press Agent: Kazuyoshi Minamimagoe
Press Agent: Kazuko Shibata
The odd couple.If current forecasts prove accurate, Lost In Translationcould be one of the few films with the potential to cause an upset at nextmonths Academy Awards by pippingReturn of the Kingto the best picture Oscar and/or Peter Jackson to best director. Such acclaimisnt lightly earned, particularly for a low budget indie film from a femaledirector making her only her second feature, but is it merited?
Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a famous Hollywood actor spending a week inJapan to promote a whisky in return for a massive payday. While hed muchprefer to be doing a play somewhere, hes happy enough to take the money as wellas getting a break from his clearly troubled marriage. What he hasnt anticipatedis how alien and overwhelming Japan would be and, as he stumbles from his hotelroom to the studio to the hotel bar and back to his room, a mixture of insomniaand loneliness moves him close to a breakdown.
Even in the quietest moments…Staying at the same hotel is Charlotte, a young American woman whos travelledto Japan with her photographer husband and who is similarly bored and lonely,left on her own for days on end while her husband goes off to a shoot. When thepair finally meet up in the bar, their shared predicament is the beginning of atouching and often hilarious friendship as they try to come to terms with theirsurroundings and their discontentment.
Lost In Translation is a complete and utter joy from first to last. Itsa masterpiece of understatement, bristling with subtly exchanged glances andunspoken yearnings. Its a beautifully constructed romance in the truest sense.And its a moving evocation of frustration and longing that gives us a realreason to care about two hugely endearing people.
An alternative poster featuring Scarlett JohanssonScarlett Johansson has consistently had an edge lacking in hercontemporaries like Kirsten Dunst and Julia Stiles and she shines here, with awisdom and a presence that belies her young age. Murray has always had a geniusfor deadpan comic delivery while at the same time being undervalued as a properactor, but watch Groundhog Day, watch Rushmore, watch Tootsieand youll see how good he really is. Watch Lost In Translation andyoull see an actor giving the performance of his life. Every slope of hisshoulders, every twitch of his cheek, every glint in his eye will have youlaughing heartily even as you suppress a sorrowful sigh.
Im not sure Ive quite forgiven Sofia Coppola for ruining The GodfatherPart III, and if she does steal the Oscar from under Peter Jacksons noseIll have even less to endear her to me. On this evidence though, I couldntbegrudge her for a second.
Review copyright © Paul Greenwood, 2004.E-mail Paul Greenwood
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.