Lost in Translation (film): An entertaining look into loneliness and love

As I am sure most of you know, this is not a new film but it is one of those movies that despite getting a lot of praise from critics and regular people, it just managed to pass me by in 2003.

It stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson in the lead roles and both of them do a pretty fantastic job in this rather unusual movie.

While categorized as a romantic-comedy, it doesn't necessarily feel like either one of those things. Sure there are some funny moments and a tinge of romance but I don't really know how to categorize it, it's just kind of unique.

The story here is that Bill Murray plays the role of Bob Harris who is an American movie-star who's career is in decline and this brings him to do jobs such as promoting a whiskey company in Japan. While his Japanese hosts do all that they can to try to accommodate him, he mostly has no idea what they want him to do and he rarely leaves the hotel because as you might expect, he doesn't understand how Japan works and is just confused and lost all the time.

There is some level of comedy when he is first called in to shoot the initial commercial for the whiskey.

The director doesn't speak any English and the translator isn't doing a fantastic job of translating for Bob. At certain points the director will speak for 40 seconds in a row and then the translator turns to Bob and says "he wants you to turn slower" to which Bob responds "that's it? He said a lot more than that."

Even though Bob is being well-compensated for this relatively easy gig he is quite unhappy being there at all. People try to speak to him but he just isn't interested in the company. That is until he meets Charlotte (Johansson) at the hotel bar and they kind of hit it off. Bob discovers that Charlotte is simply traveling with her celebrity photographer husband and she doesn't really have anything to do during the day. While it is initially unintentional, Bob and Charlotte end up hanging out more and more and you can see that despite their rather extreme age difference that they just kind of click with one another. They don't do anything inappropriate but it is very clear that there is a connection there.

Both of them are very unhappy being in Japan but when they are together things are fun again for both of them. While they don't come out and say it, both of them are clearly unhappy with their marriages and it takes some restraint on both of their parts to not hook up. It is clear they both want to and the two actors do a great job in the scenes to make this tension evident.

I don't want to spoil what happens in the movie but it is quite touching and very well executed on the part of the actors as well as the production team. I can't imagine how they were able to film this in busy Tokyo but a lot of the scenes appear to have been filmed with many people being in the scene that don't realize that they are in a movie. I can't imagine that they would be able to shut down an entire downtown Tokyo area for anything, let alone a film with an overall budget of $4 million.

This film might move a bit slow for people out there that need the action to be coming at them rapid-fire, but if you have a bit of patience and put your phone in another room I think you will find this to be a very rewarding experience. They don't often make movies like this anymore and that is a damn shame. I think it was a bit of a gamble ever making it in the first place because this is quite a niche audience they were aiming for as romcoms were a dime a dozen in the early 2000's.

Should I watch it?

Like I just said, this film isn't going to be for everyone because it does have long stretches where not a lot happens. The buildup is necessary in my mind though because we need to establish, without a narrator (which would completely change and perhaps ruin the film) how it is that our two main characters feel about their current situation. I think that this is brilliantly executed and in the end it is a heartwarming film while also being bittersweet at the same time. I can't think of many film that pull this off very effectively and therefore this is one of those rare films out there that is truly unique. I recommend it for sure.