Les Jones: Lost in Translation

January 10, 2004

A&E > Lost in Translation

I've been ignoring Melissa this week, so I told her I'd take her on a Friday night date to make up for it. After dinner we caught Lost In Translation. Fantastic movie.

The movie isn't so much a story as a mood sustained for two hours. Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a washed-up movie actor reduced to endorsing whiskey in Japan. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is the neglected wife of a photographer (Giovanni Rabisi). Both characters are awash in passivity and helplessness, and find each other in a Japanese hotel.

One of the things I liked about the movie is the anti-glamor. Young Charlotte looks good, but Harris's face is a wreck. Other actors in the movie have imperfect teeth and boring clothes. The hotel lounge is sleazy and depressing. The gritty actors and sets give the movie depth and help tell the story.

If you like Bill Murray in dramatic roles, you'll probably like Mad Dog and Glory, with Uma Thurman, Robert de Niro and David Caruso. Murray has a relatively small part as the villian, but it's a chance to see him in full drama mode with no fallback to comedy.

Posted by lesjones

Comments

The movie isn't so much a story as a mood sustained for two hours.

That's a great way of describing it.. I enjoyed this movie as well..

Posted by: Chris Wage at January 10, 2004

Thanks. Melissa and I were talking about something this morning. Some of the images in that movie really stay with you. I can recall an extraordinary number of the scenes. The multiple temple scenes, the pachinko (sp?) arcade, the strip joint, the pool, the karaoke, the steam table, the photo shoot, the prostitute, and on and on.

Posted by: Les Jones at January 10, 2004

The funny part to me was that, because Bill Murray was in it, I think a lot of people expected it to be a comedy, and so expected a comedic performance by Bill -- either a la Caddy Shack, or even Rushmore. But they got neither..

And it was so funny (although annoying) to hear these people in the theatre laughing at various scenes with Bill Murray that weren't really meant to be funny, just because, I guess, they thought they should be laughing.

Posted by: Chris Wage at January 11, 2004