(Now I know where the band Coldplay got their inspiration for their song LOVERS IN JAPAN...)
CAST: Sir Bill Murray, Scarlett Johanssen, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Catherine Lambert, Akiko Takeshita.
DIRECTOR: Sofia Coppola
WARNING: Some SPOILERS and unexpected - and unlikely - soulmate pairings straight ahead...
"Everyone Wants To Be Found..."
- Poster Tagline for LOST IN TRANSLATION
There's a scene in THE ENGLISH PATIENT where Hannah (Juliette Binoche) eagerly tells Count Almasy (Ralph Fiennes) that the new visitor to their rundown Northern Italian villa is from the same area in Quebec that she's from. Almasy ridicules her by saying something to the effect of "If you were home in Quebec, would you make such a big deal out of it?"
Hannah's innocent and heartfelt reply? Something along the lines of: "When you're away from home, who you are and where you come from become important." Basically, her point is that similarities with others that we might overlook when we are at home - become sacred when we are in a new and strange environment. As someone who's spent most of his life overseas, I can vouch whole-heartedly for this.
It's this idea that is at the heart of the simply stupendous flick LOST IN TRANSLATION.
We open on a shot (no kidding) of a beautiful female ass encased in sheer panties. Before we can get too attached to it, though, we switch views to... Sir Bill Murray's tired mug in the backseat of a cab. Which is still an okay substitute because, well, it's Sir Bill.
Bill plays fading movie star Bob Harris, who's in Tokyo on one of those quickie commercial jobs where he just has to smile next to a pack of Japanese cigarettes or beer - and then collect a cool million or two for his troubles. Nice work if you can get it, eh? Anyhow, Bob arrives at the Tokyo Park Hotel, which is insanely expensive and where I was once almost thrown out for loudly mimicking the bellhops' delivery of English. Trust me: the Japanese are the most patient and polite people - until they hear "Prease tell me where I can buy some reopard plint bikini bliefs because the ones I blought with me a totarry boling and prain and I want to rook fry" one too many times. Then they demand to see your room key and tell you go back to the El Cheapo shoebox ryokan on the other side of Tokyo that you are actually staying in. Ahem.
But I digress.... So, to say that Bob is a little jet-lagged would be like saying the Japanese occasionally like to eat gross and slimy things. It doesn't help that he is greeted by an armada of Japanese PR people who seem to have had Red Bull pumped directly into their veins. They ain't got nothin' on a pack of rabid Jack Russell Terriers with their nuts locked in a vise grip.
It further doesn't help when Bob discovers that the tyrannical director of his commercial actually has a Red Bull can for a heart. And to add insult to foreign injury, Bob has to put up with being recognized in the hotel's club - and then talked about as if he's not even sitting there. Plus he has to deal with a wife back in Los Angeles who harangues him by fax over "carpet samples."
And then, just because the outlook isn't grim enough for Bob, his agent makes him stay longer in-country for an appearance on a TV show that is like "The Johnny Carson of Japan." Now, I lived in Japan for over two years, folks. And any Japanese show that is described in such a way is one to run screaming from, because: (1) it most likely has no remote resemblance to Johnny Carson, and (2) watching it just might mean you have only seven days left to live. Like THE RING - only somehow more horrifying.
But the real atrocity is that the rabid team of PR gremlins decide to do Bob a favor by sending an escort up to his room. Now, the chick is reasonably attractive. Unfortunately, she has a personality that makes Mrs. Voorhees from FRIDAY THE 13TH look like Snow White. She basically rapes Bob right there on the floor of his hotel room - after taking out every single lamp within kicking distance.
Fortunately, things start to look up when Bob unexpectedly runs into Charlotte (Scarlett Johanssen). Scarlett is accompanying her celebrity photographer husband John (Giovanni Ribisi) while he's in Japan to take photos of... well, it's never made clear who. John's assignment takes him frequently out of Tokyo, forcing Charlotte to spend a lot of time by herself at the hotel - and wandering the surreal environs of the city with a "WTF?" expression constantly plastered on her face.
It doesn't help that one of John's actress friends is also staying at the hotel to promote her godawful-sounding flick, MIDNIGHT VELOCITY. She is Kelly (Anna Faris), and is easily the most irritating organism this side of a screaming throng of Justin Bieber fans. Kelly is one of those Hollywood bimbettes that is forever gushing about the newest colon cleanse that she's discovered - that is, when she's not babbling about how fast her metabolism is. Fucking anorexics....
Needless to say, despite their age difference, Bob and Charlotte are drawn to each other like a dropped anvil and a stretch of pavement. If they hadn't met each other when they did, they probably would've either: (1) drunk themselves into oblivion, (2) smacked Kelly and John around until they begged for their lives, or (3) fled the country together. Now, that they've found each other, they spend a lot of time just hanging out, talking, opening up to each other, and - even though it's never stated outright - falling in love.
But is this the real thing? Are they drawn to each other just because they are two lost Americans in Japan? Or is it really love? What about their respective spouses? Should they just remain friends? Or should they take it further? What happens at the end of the week when they must part ways? And what happens when Charlotte catches Bob banging the lounge-singer tramp who was butchering "Scarborough Fair" earlier?
Well, folks, if there's anything that I've learned in this life, it's this: sex is easy, but love is complicated. Especially when one of you is, um, a cougar. And that's all I'm saying.
BUT, SERIOUSLY: I was still living in Italy when LOST IN TRANSLATION came out, and didn't see it immediately. However, acquaintances who'd just returned from the States had seen it there, and they told me they hated it. I was a bit surprised, since the trailers looked great and the talent involved is, well, talented - especially Sir Bill Murray. Based on their critique, though, I didn't go to see LOST IN TRANSLATION when it finally reached Italy. I thought I'd wait for it on DVD.
Six months or so later, I rented the DVD - and subsequently discovered three things: (1) my acquaintances who saw and hated LOST IN TRANSLATION were idiots, but (2) I was an even bigger idiot for listening to them and (3) not giving the film a chance in theaters. Suffice it to say, this is one of my favorite movies now.
The reason cited by the choads for not liking LOST IN TRANSLATION was simple: nothing happens in it - and, therefore, it's boring.
To be fair, the above critique is totally understandable - if the critic is used to and favors generic formula films that refuse to color outside the lines, or think outside the box. I should've questioned their opinion of the film more, given that this couple's favorite movie is NATIONAL TREASURE and ARMAGEDDON. Not to be a snob or anything, but those films, while entertaining, are definitely of a very specific formula. They're about as far removed from LOST IN TRANSLATION as they can possibly get.
LOST IN TRANSLATION is a quiet film. But that doesn't mean that nothing happens in it, and it is definitely not boring. Anyone who thinks so isn't paying attention - or doesn't have the patience or attention span to do so. Quite a lot goes on, but writer/director Sofia Coppola wisely lets silences and gestures speak louder than words. And the most important bit of dialogue is kept from our ears: Bob's whispered farewell (and more?) to Charlotte at the very end. More on that later....
A lesser romance would have followed a more conventional and predictable path, with all the tried-and-true story beats touched on. Indeed, my acquaintances complained about how Bob and Charlotte never had sex - which pretty much tells you the level of their intelligence. Introducing sex into the delicate mix of their relationship would have cheapened the whole thing.
Major kudos should go to Sofia Coppola for crafting a sensitive screenplay that understands love is the strongest when it is on borrowed time. And when it dare not speak its name. There's a reason why she won the BEST SCREENPLAY OSCAR at the 2004 Academy Awards. Her script is brilliant because of its understated understanding of the human heart.
Anyone who travels a lot knows that unexpected connections and unlikely kindred spirits are part of the journey. Instead of trying to make it last forever, you just have to enjoy it while it lasts. It's this moving theme that Coppola captures beautifully with the help of a perfect cast. They express so much by holding back a lot. But it's the two leads who shine the brightest.
Sir Bill Murray is perfect as Bob Harris, a guy who hides a reservoir of feeling under a cool, impassive surface. Playing a man who is clearly not entirely happy about where he is at that point in his life, Bill manages to make Bob's plight compelling and not at all cliched. And his sense of emptiness is mirrored by Charlotte's own.
The scenes of Bob gradually opening up to Charlotte are beautiful to watch. There's nothing more electric than watching two people who were meant for each other click - even if they may not necessarily be aware of it themselves. By the end of the movie, though, there is no question that they realize it.
As the young, intelligent, but still a bit naive Charlotte, Scarlett Johanssen definitely establishes herself as more than just a sexy body and a beautiful face. Without saying too many words, she ably conveys her growing disillusionment with her husband, and her quiet sense of panic about the direction her life is heading. She also conveys her growing affection for Bob with a wonderful array of non-verbal gestures that are more expressive than ten pages of dialogue.
Each averted glance, each melancholy smile, each sad laugh, each soulful glance - says a lot about what she's feeling inside. She may not understand herself what she's feeling, but it's crystal-clear to the audience: Charlotte is falling in love with Bob.
But the beautiful thing about LOST IN TRANSLATION is that, true to a movie about a love that dare not speak its name, we are never told explicitly that Bob and Charlotte have fallen for each other. We can only infer it through their eloquent gestures and expressions.
Which leads me to that wonderful, wonderful, wonderful final scene of Bob whispering in Charlotte's ear - before he leaves Japan. We are never told what he says. We just see her tearful, but yet also joyous, reaction to it. Does he tell her he loves her, too? Do they make plans to meet up in the States? Is he planning to come back to Japan with her sometime? We will never know. Nor should we. Because it's none of our business.
It's their story. But it's also the story of anyone who's ever met an unexpected soulmate in an unlikely place.
As LOST IN TRANSLATION'S poster reads: "Everyone Wants To Be Found..." And while we will never know what the future holds for Bob and Charlotte, we are just glad that they found each other. In this crazy world, that's something...
