Film: Lost in Translation

[teknohero]

good movie. not great, but good. very dry humor.


and was it just me or was she wearing the SAME underwear in all them scenes???

 

[teknohero]

also, she was great in ghost world. love that movie!

 

[onetwothreefour]

Originally posted by punch e punch
1234- would you say that the "films about nothing" that you mentioned are interesting and clever, not because not much happens in the way of drama, but because those films had a unique style or structure which was hard to compare to anything that came before it?

yeah, it's a slippery concept to discuss, hence my having a bit of trouble with it

but yeah, i think what you're saying is (often - though not always) a big part of it. the excitement, if you will, of the film comes from its innovative narrative or stylistic elements rather than any conventional drama, and thus such a film can be particularly interesting - it often leaves a lot of room for interpretation and discussion.

plus anything which is almost entirely based on character can always be interpreted as dull, anyway. i guess it just depends on a) how real you think the characters are, b) how much you like (or at least are intrigued by) the characters, and c) whether you actually like watching people effectively just sit around and crap on

 

[alasdairm]

indeed - some wise bastard once said that, in music, you get payed for the notes you don't play.

well, i think that in the case of this film, there are a lot of things which didn't happen which make the film great.

alasdair

 

[Mysterier]

there were so many great reviews about his movie that really made me want to watch it, it was a good movie, but it could have been alot better......considering all the hype.

 

[MouseOnMars]

just on that, i dont understand, how could it have been a lot better? i thought this fleeting journey around Tokyo could not have been a) shot better b) wrtten better (well, yeah, she got an oscar didn't she?) and c) cast better.

as alasdair says, it could have done a lot more, but it didn't. this sense of restraint kept me absolutely captivated.

 

[onetwothreefour]

^^^ not that oscars mean shit

i totally agree with your sentiment (obviously), but the logic is not quite so good

 

[Pounding_Grooves]

it was ok, bit schmaltzy, but i guess thats what the academy likes , richard linklater made much better film 9 years ago, called before sunrise

 

[Pounding_Grooves]

i would advise everyone to check out "before sunrise", tarantino states its the best love story ever filmed, and i for one concur with him.( of course my opinion holds more weight around these boards)

 

[jpgrdnr]

Lost in Translation was great. Bill Murray was fabulous. But he's always like that. Well written script. One of the freshest scripts written in a while.
I guess to all those people who didn't like it, not everyone likes a great red wine. But to all those that do, this one is very satisfying.

 

[h@ndo]

deleted

 

[Raving Loony]

After hearing a lot of disappointing reviews of the movie I finally got too see it.
I was very impressed. The soundtrack was absolutely mesmerizing, just waaaay to perfect. I knew the instant in the beginning where Death In Vegas's "Girls" is playing as the car is driving through Japan that I was going to love the movie. Some would say it was slow, and I would probably agree, but i don't think that in any way detracts from the movie. The movie was all about atmosphere and feeling, and it was by far the most atmospheric movie I have seen in a long time...

I finally got around to seeing this film and it was one of those films that when watching it just seemed to touch my soul in all the right places from start to finish, yet without never really knowing why. But one thing I did pick up during the movie was the soundtrack. It was awesome. This is most unusual, because the soundtrack is almost always the last thing I notice in a film.

Having said that, the more I break the movie down into peices, the more flaws I find. But I think that in this case I think I might choose to be ignorant this time and remember it how I'd want too.

 

[alasdairm]

Originally posted by Raving Loony
...it was one of those films that when watching it just seemed to touch my soul in all the right places from start to finish, yet without never really knowing why.

beautifully worded.

in some cases it seems to me they're just being contrary to be cool - especially where movies are popular. obviously this is a crude generalisation.

i find there's a tendency for some critics to overanalyse the life out of a movie. sometimes i just have to sit back and let the joy wash over me.

alasdair

 

[L O V E L I F E]

While watching this movie, I thought I was in Groundhog Day.

This would have been a semi-amusing short if it ended after 20 minutes.

Unfortunately, it didn't.

 

[LILJo]

i really liked the movie except the end

*spoiler*


i dont think the kiss shouldnt have taken place. i htink it should have left with him driving away and seeing her in the street because this movie was about the tension and the fact that they were both in a situation that could never flourish into something more. i like leaving it a "what if" ending because its more realistic.

 

[Raving Loony]

Well I didn't feel as if I was in Groundhog Day, but it certainly felt like a movie right out of the 1980's. So I guess it was only appropriate that Bill Murray played the leading part

The one that has been irriatating me about this movie is that I have had that Roxy Music track 'More than this' stuck in my head 24/7 ever since.

 

[Strawberry_lovemuffin]

This movie was strange, and beautiful, and touching....

but there were some things that annoyed me. I thought the sexual tension between the main two characters was too close for comfort. I really thought they were going to "do it" at several stages, and that made me really uncomfortable.... to the point of squirming. Didn't want to see the old guy with the young chick, no matter how good friends they were.

I also didn't understand what was so bad about Charlotte's life. She annoyed me a little with her melancholy over nothing... a little spoiled brat-ish if you ask me, despite her fun personality. Her husband loved her, he *didn't* fuck the blond bimbo, she's getting a free holiday in Japan, doesn't appear to be short of money... bloody hell, pick up your bottom lip!

:D

Apart from these minor character annoyances I must agree the movie is executed brilliantly. As alasdairm said, it was more about what *wasn't* put in than what was - it avoided the obvious cliches (the cheating husband, the nicely-wrapped up ending) and over-emphasised some (the Japanese culture elements) - but with self-awareness and irony.

I wasn't entirely sure what the "message" was in this movie (I'd never read any reviews); but it left me with an overall feeling of having been enriched by it.

But then I am a fan of 'movies about nothing'... my boyfriend thought it was a load of horseshit

 

[quiet roar]

^^^ I agree SLM.

It's not like nothing happened, but rather nothing exciting or earth shattering - much like everyday life.

 

[Munted]

It was beautiful, touching, thought provoking & beautiful . I loved it. One of the best films I've seen in a long, long time.

I fell in love with Bill Murray's & Scarlett Johanssen's characters. Both of them were well crafted in my opinion. I wish I was articulate enough to put into words how much I was moved by this film. However, I am not and wishing will do me no good, so I will just have to say. . .Wow. . .

I've already seen it twice and I can't see myself tiring of it too soon. It's a movie that really did as Raving Loony so succinctly put it "touch my soul in all the right places from start to finish".

I am however left with a yearning for the kind of relationship Bob and Charlotte shared and a slight feeling of loneliness. Carrying this emotion after the film is something that has secured Lost in Translation a high spot on my list of all time favourites. . .

Thankyou Sofia!

 

[onetwothreefour]

^^^ it's funny, i found myself with the same yearning. it's pretty amazing the amount of depth she was able to imbue into two characters in such a short time; enough so that i am still thinking about them months later.

has anyone bought the dvd for this yet - what are the extras like?