Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation - ****

Oh, the value of a friend! That rich, unspoken admiration.. the implicit, intangible connection, without reason, or purpose. The friendship between one human being to another, especially strangers, appears to exist without predetermined feeling. Lost in Translation is a deeply felt and knowing film about this treasured feeling. Sofia Coppola, who's talent did not extend to acting in The Godfather : Part III, wrote and directed the film has set herself up for delivering a Hollywood hat-trick with this film.

Bob Harris (Bill Murray), has been deservedly nominated for an Oscar. Going off on a tangent, I must confess, I've been an enormous fan of Murray's deadpanning for years, from the brilliantly lively and funny Ghostbusters, to his sourpuss showpiece, Groundhog Day. And when I heard about Rushmore, that he's found his acting bones, I was happy, albeit restrained, due to many comic film stars using small films to bolster their "acting" resume, ignoring the splendid Jim Carrey in this set. This Oscar, symbolises and cements the fact that he is not a mere flash in the pan.

Bob Harris is an aging American actor in Japan, who has been paid $2m to endorse a whiskey, and cannot speak more than five words of Japanese. Scarlett Johnson, another actress whom I shall pay much more attention to in the future, plays Charlotte, who is pretty, intelligent, and married to a man who is a workaholic on assignment. She is evidently finding it difficult to find meaning in life, listening to self-help tapes. And in a later moment in the film, we learn that she despises her own creative work. Bob and Charlotte meet in a bar, and slowly begin a pleasant friendship.

The screenplay, which will deservedly *win* an Oscar, is brilliantly restrained, leaving so much unsaid by the actors. Daring, and yet minimalist. Allowing the two leads to carefully percolate into their roles, and into our collective concious. The camera lingers on the faces of the actors, letting them fill the shoes and tell the story. There is no mishmash of genres in the film, no quirky drama or fanciful two-bit comedy. Sure, there's dry comedy, and genuine drama, and even a little platonic romance, but the film does not follow the form of a standard screenplay (It doesn't hit the recipe of Inciting Incidents, and Climaxes), it masters the form, and rises above it.

The main characters are as lost as we are in Tokyo. Without subtitles, we cannot understand much of the language, and the culture. And through a series of montage, and through the characters reactions to various events, we begin to feel comfortable enough with them to empathise with their various predicaments. We effortlessly let them into our hearts and minds. A cinematic tool which is used to it's best in the film.

In the end, we're neither sure that things will be better now that Bob and Charlotte have had their shared little moments of kindness, but we love the fact that they've had their time together. We love the fact that we're blindsided occasionally. And to Coppola's most supreme credit, we know and want to know these characters more than we do. That's storytelling.

And on a personal note, perfect beginning, and ending..

----> snip ---->

Language barriers - a translation of the Santory commercial shoot.

DIRECTOR (in Japanese to the interpreter): The translation is very important, O.K.? The translation.

INTERPRETER: Yes, of course. I understand.

DIRECTOR: Mr. Bob-san. You are sitting quietly in your study. And then there is a bottle of Suntory whiskey on top of the table. You understand, right? With wholehearted feeling, slowly, look at the camera, tenderly, and as if you are meeting old friends, say the words. As if you are Bogie in "Casablanca," saying, "Cheers to you guys," Suntory time!

INTERPRETER: He wants you to turn, look in camera. O.K.?

BOB: That's all he said?

INTERPRETER: Yes, turn to camera.

BOB: Does he want me to, to turn from the right or turn from the left?

INTERPRETER (in very formal Japanese to the director): He has prepared and is ready. And he wants to know, when the camera rolls, would you prefer that he turn to the left, or would you prefer that he turn to the right? And that is the kind of thing he would like to know, if you don't mind.

DIRECTOR (very brusquely, and in much more colloquial Japanese): Either way is fine. That kind of thing doesn't matter. We don't have time, Bob-san, O.K.? You need to hurry. Raise the tension. Look at the camera. Slowly, with passion. It's passion that we want. Do you understand?

INTERPRETER (In English, to Bob): Right side. And, uh, with intensity.

BOB: Is that everything? It seemed like he said quite a bit more than that.

DIRECTOR: What you are talking about is not just whiskey, you know. Do you understand? It's like you are meeting old friends. Softly, tenderly. Gently. Let your feelings boil up. Tension is important! Don't forget.

INTERPRETER (in English, to Bob): Like an old friend, and into the camera.

BOB: O.K.

DIRECTOR: You understand? You love whiskey. It's Suntory time! O.K.?

BOB: O.K.

DIRECTOR: O.K.? O.K., let's roll. Start.

BOB: For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.

DIRECTOR: Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut! (Then in a very male form of Japanese, like a father speaking to a wayward child) Don't try to fool me. Don't pretend you don't understand. Do you even understand what we are trying to do? Suntory is very exclusive. The sound of the words is important. It's an expensive drink. This is No. 1. Now do it again, and you have to feel that this is exclusive. O.K.? This is not an everyday whiskey you know.

INTERPRETER: Could you do it slower and ...

DIRECTOR: With more ecstatic emotion.

INTERPRETER: More intensity.

DIRECTOR (in English): Suntory time! Roll.

BOB: For relaxing times, make it Suntory time.

DIRECTOR: Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut! God, I'm begging you.