Lost in a movie
What a movie. What a simply great movie. I can't remember when it was that I last watched such a simple (yet immensely complicated) story being told with such style.
Last night, I finally watched 'Lost in Translation'. It was the first, of what I believe will be many viewings of a great film.
I feel quite sure that this movie was a result of some deeply personal experience of writer/director Sofia Coppola. The experiences the protagonists go through in the movie are so real, that any adult viewer can relate to them immediately.
Bill Murray plays aging Hollywood star Bob Harris, who is in Japan for a few days to shoot for a ad endorsing a popular whiskey brand. Shortly through the movie we get to know that Bob is not exactly at the peak of his career, and his marriage of 25 years is at a stage when both he and his spouse take each other for granted all the time. Example of a phone conversation between Bob and his wife : Wife - 'Do I need to worry about you, Bob ?' . Bob - 'Only if you want to.'
In Japan, Bob is severely hit by the completely new culture he is (almost forcibly) exposed to. He can't relate to a single thing here, and there are some quiet but extremely comic sequences of Bob taking a bath in a strange shower and him waking up to automatically retracting window blinds.
(As an aside; I can completely relate to this kind of feeling. When I was abroad, one of my biggest fears was going to the bathroom to take a leak. I mean, every bathroom has a different kind of flush and one of my perennial fears used to be that I would be stuck in the toilet without being able to find the flush. I actually spent a good 20 minutes in an airplane toilet once before I found the discreetly hidden flush. Then there was this situation in a restaurant washroon Zurich where I was standing like an idiot in front of a washbasin not knowing where the tap was. Till another customer showed me that the 'tap' was on the floor, and one had to put one's foot on it for the water to flow from a nozzle into the basin. The extent to which these small things alienate you from your surroundings is not as small as it might seem. Every time you get into a train and hear announcements ONLY in languages you don't speak gets unspeakably irritating after a while. There's a hilarious sequence in the film where Bob is stuck on a treadmill which only gives out instrctions in Japanese. Reminded me of an incident when I lost 5 francs in a candy machine that gave out instructions only in German. I was banging and kicking the damn thing, much to the amusement of onlookers.)
Coming back to LIT. Added to the cultural alienation faced by Bob is his realisation that he is at the fag end of his career, and he knows that he is endorsing a Whiskey brand for the quick buck it provides; rather than acting in a quality play.
Checked into the same hotel as Bob are Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson)and her photographer husband. The husband is on assignment in Tokyo. He and Charlotte have been married for 2 years, and clearly the relationship is not meant to last. He is a shallow character, and is no match intellectually for the obviously smarter and mature Charlotte. Charlotte is a recent philosophy graduate and is confused about where life is taking her. He husband clearly wants to keep her as much out of his day life as he can. She spends her time in her hotel room gazing at the emptiness of ultra modern Tokyo from the window.
Charlotte and Bob bump into each other a couple of times at the hotel bar and get talking. They both find someone who can understand their loneliness and confusion. Soon, Bob finds his humorous side in Charlotte's company. They run about the alleyways and karaoke bars of downtown Tokyo, and forget about their lives for a short while.
The characters of Bob and Charlotte are so well chalked out, and Murray and Johansson play their parts so well, that the movie rises way above the ordinary. Bill Murray became one of my favorite actors way back when I watched Groundhog Day. I always thought he is one of the most underrated actors in film, and this film reinforces that feeling.
The movie ends when it's time for Bill to leave Tokyo after his shoot. Both he and Charlotte have touched something in each other, and it's something they will never be able to tell each other.
What clinched the movie for me was the final sequence. Bob just wants to say farewell away from all the flunkies at the hotel. He finds Charlotte in a busy street and goes over and manages to bid her goodbye. He tells her something in her ear which we, the audience, cannot hear. And we respect that. It's such a beautiful touch. I feel if we heard what Bob said, whatever it was and however poetic it was, it would ruin the moment.
The relief and happiness evident on Bob's face after he leaves Charlotte on a good note is something I think we have all felt in our lives at some point. It's a feeling that says to us - it's better to make up than to fight. It's the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment that flows through when we know that we have managed not to let a beautiful moment pass by in bitterness.
Kudos to you, Sofia Coppola, Francis Coppola, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
At the end of this wonderful film, I was reminded of Billy Joel's lyrics :
It's all about soul.
Last night, I finally watched 'Lost in Translation'. It was the first, of what I believe will be many viewings of a great film.
I feel quite sure that this movie was a result of some deeply personal experience of writer/director Sofia Coppola. The experiences the protagonists go through in the movie are so real, that any adult viewer can relate to them immediately.
Bill Murray plays aging Hollywood star Bob Harris, who is in Japan for a few days to shoot for a ad endorsing a popular whiskey brand. Shortly through the movie we get to know that Bob is not exactly at the peak of his career, and his marriage of 25 years is at a stage when both he and his spouse take each other for granted all the time. Example of a phone conversation between Bob and his wife : Wife - 'Do I need to worry about you, Bob ?' . Bob - 'Only if you want to.'
In Japan, Bob is severely hit by the completely new culture he is (almost forcibly) exposed to. He can't relate to a single thing here, and there are some quiet but extremely comic sequences of Bob taking a bath in a strange shower and him waking up to automatically retracting window blinds.
(As an aside; I can completely relate to this kind of feeling. When I was abroad, one of my biggest fears was going to the bathroom to take a leak. I mean, every bathroom has a different kind of flush and one of my perennial fears used to be that I would be stuck in the toilet without being able to find the flush. I actually spent a good 20 minutes in an airplane toilet once before I found the discreetly hidden flush. Then there was this situation in a restaurant washroon Zurich where I was standing like an idiot in front of a washbasin not knowing where the tap was. Till another customer showed me that the 'tap' was on the floor, and one had to put one's foot on it for the water to flow from a nozzle into the basin. The extent to which these small things alienate you from your surroundings is not as small as it might seem. Every time you get into a train and hear announcements ONLY in languages you don't speak gets unspeakably irritating after a while. There's a hilarious sequence in the film where Bob is stuck on a treadmill which only gives out instrctions in Japanese. Reminded me of an incident when I lost 5 francs in a candy machine that gave out instructions only in German. I was banging and kicking the damn thing, much to the amusement of onlookers.)
Coming back to LIT. Added to the cultural alienation faced by Bob is his realisation that he is at the fag end of his career, and he knows that he is endorsing a Whiskey brand for the quick buck it provides; rather than acting in a quality play.
Checked into the same hotel as Bob are Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson)and her photographer husband. The husband is on assignment in Tokyo. He and Charlotte have been married for 2 years, and clearly the relationship is not meant to last. He is a shallow character, and is no match intellectually for the obviously smarter and mature Charlotte. Charlotte is a recent philosophy graduate and is confused about where life is taking her. He husband clearly wants to keep her as much out of his day life as he can. She spends her time in her hotel room gazing at the emptiness of ultra modern Tokyo from the window.
Charlotte and Bob bump into each other a couple of times at the hotel bar and get talking. They both find someone who can understand their loneliness and confusion. Soon, Bob finds his humorous side in Charlotte's company. They run about the alleyways and karaoke bars of downtown Tokyo, and forget about their lives for a short while.The characters of Bob and Charlotte are so well chalked out, and Murray and Johansson play their parts so well, that the movie rises way above the ordinary. Bill Murray became one of my favorite actors way back when I watched Groundhog Day. I always thought he is one of the most underrated actors in film, and this film reinforces that feeling.
The movie ends when it's time for Bill to leave Tokyo after his shoot. Both he and Charlotte have touched something in each other, and it's something they will never be able to tell each other.
What clinched the movie for me was the final sequence. Bob just wants to say farewell away from all the flunkies at the hotel. He finds Charlotte in a busy street and goes over and manages to bid her goodbye. He tells her something in her ear which we, the audience, cannot hear. And we respect that. It's such a beautiful touch. I feel if we heard what Bob said, whatever it was and however poetic it was, it would ruin the moment.
The relief and happiness evident on Bob's face after he leaves Charlotte on a good note is something I think we have all felt in our lives at some point. It's a feeling that says to us - it's better to make up than to fight. It's the feeling of satisfaction and fulfillment that flows through when we know that we have managed not to let a beautiful moment pass by in bitterness.
Kudos to you, Sofia Coppola, Francis Coppola, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
At the end of this wonderful film, I was reminded of Billy Joel's lyrics :
She turns to me sometimes and SHE asks me what I'm dreaming
And I realize I must have gone a million miles away
And I ask her how she knew to reach out for me AT that moment
And she smiles because it's understood there are no words to say
It's all about soul.
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