Lost in Translation (2003)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2003
	Director: Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides)
	Actors:  Bill Murray (Groundhog Day, Moorise Kingdom), Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers 1-2), Giovanni Ribisi (Avatar), Anna Faris (May)
	Country: USA, J
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 18.12.2015, SD VOD, Home cinema
Synopsis: A famous actor past his prime (Murray) and the neglected wife of a photographer (Johansson) meet in their hotel in Tokyo, both at lost with the workings of this foreign country.
Review: Currently organizing my own trip to Japan for April, I am quite inclined to watch movies from or about this country so I couldn't avoid Sofia Coppola's second feature film. I had mixed feelings after watching it back in 2003 and I could now remember why: nothing much happens in this movie and it is thus easy to get bored if you are not fan of Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and/or Sofia Coppola's style. Because in fact the movie is not about things happening but things not happening, and all its interests resides in the mood that Coppola manages very well to convey with slow and long shots, or for example by often shooting secondary characters from the back, or without showing their face (it even happens to a main character like the photographer played by Ribisi to accentuate his hollow life). In that context, Scarlett Johanssen and especially Bill Murray deliver an excellent actor's performance. He can in one sentence and one look transmit the feelings of an aging actor who would rather be on stage than part of a commercial freak show (reminding the main theme of Birdman). In three quick apparitions Anna Faris also gives an acid image of the Hollywood star. The movie is timely taking place at a period when smartphones and Internet were not as widespread so the characters trapped in the hotel room cannot escape it via Internet. Past the basic topic of the movie and the clichés (different culture and rules, difficulties with the language, food or transport...) a second layer progressively emerges, this one about the main characters' place in life as both of them, in spite of their large age difference, are uncertain about their situation and their future. Lost in Translation is better appreciated if you are ready to slowly dive into its rhythm and scratch the surface meaning to see beyond. I am still not totally convinced but since 2003 I have learned how to appreciate such movies. And it did hit the intended mark of placing me even more in the mood to discover Tokyo and Japan. The next Japanese movie on my list: Always: Sunset on Third Street.
Rating: 6 /10