Lost In Translation

Bob Harris, a Hollywood actor who has been "sold" to a whiskey producer to record a Japanese TV commercial, for a few days he leaves his home, running away from his wife and son.

The shootings show us a crowded Tokyo, with metallic and shiny skyscrapers whose windows may appear like a dinosaur from a commercial advertising at any time. They are at the same time the look of wonder of Bob, who gets to communicate the feeling of loneliness and helplessness that the he will express throughout the story, accentuated by the effect of not understanding very well what happens when everything he says has to be translated and when he can’t understand anything when they talk to him.

On the other hand, is Charlotte, the young wife of a professional photographer, played by Scarlett Johansson, who is as a good and caring as a woman should be while she waits for her husband in the same luxury hotel that is hosting Bob.

At the moment the situation is perfect for what you believe the film may be: a thorough drama or a sensitive one, where viewers can share the feelings of the protagonists; or a romantic comedy filled with tenderness, capable of gathering beings so different and so similar at the same time, enriched by the amazing city environment.

Sofia Coppola gets a palette of colors to fit every occasion, achieving to highlight the beautiful face of Johansson and the melancholic absent expression of Murray.

The communication of these two characters on built by the looks of understanding between these two people who, beyond their obvious differences, recognize in each other the same need to share some of that void that they cannot define, much less express.

Coppola creates a magical atmosphere in which a night cup from the depressing hotel bar and shared in a room for insomnia, a wild ride through the city that seems the result of a hallucination, a letter slipped under a door are situations that, to the eyes of the viewer, turn into actions of enormous strength that breathes in a complicity that goes beyond any barrier and, slowly but surely, creates a deep bond of affection between Charlotte and Bob.

Beyond the exquisite photography by Lance Acord, the complex and tight soundtrack, the intelligent work of Coppola's staging of her own script or the impressive performance of the two actors, "Lost in Translation" lasts in the memory thanks to a tremendous end, an end so magnificent and unforgettable.

Director: Sofia Coppola

Writer: Sofia Coppola

Stars: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson and Giovanni Ribisi