Lost in Translation (film)

Lost in Translation
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sofia Coppola
Produced by	Ross Katz Sofia Coppola
Written by	Sofia Coppola
Starring	Bill Murray Scarlett Johansson Giovanni Ribisi Anna Faris
Music by	Brian Reitzell Kevin Shields Roger Joseph Manning Jr. Air
Cinematography	Lance Acord
Editing by	Sarah Flack
Studio	American Zoetrope Tohokushinsha Film
Distributed by	Focus Features
Release date(s)	October 3, 2003 (2003-10-03)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	United States Japan
Language	English
Budget	$4 million
Box office	$119,723,856

Lost in Translation is a 2003 American film written and directed by Sofia Coppola; her second feature film after The Virgin Suicides (1999) and it stars Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson. A drama with elements of comedy and romance, the film revolves around an aging actor named Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and a recent college graduate named Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), who develop a unique closeness after a chance meeting in a grand Tokyo hotel. The movie explores themes of loneliness, alienation, insomnia, existential ennui, and culture shock, against the backdrop of a modern Japanese cityscape.

Lost in Translation was a major critical success^[1] and went on to be nominated for four Academy Awards, including: Best Picture, Best Actor for Bill Murray, and Best Director for Sofia Coppola; Coppola won for Best Original Screenplay. Scarlett Johansson won a BAFTA award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The film was also a commercial success relative to its production cost, grossing $120m from a budget of only $4m.

Plot

Bob Harris (Bill Murray), an aging American movie star, arrives in Tokyo to film an advertisement for Suntory whisky, for which he will receive $2 million. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a young recent Yale graduate, is left behind in her hotel room by her husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), a celebrity photographer on assignment in Tokyo. Charlotte is unsure of her present and her future and about the man she has married as she believes he takes more interest in his celebrity models, most notably a young and popular American actress named Kelly (Anna Faris), than he does in her. At the same time, Bob's own 25-year marriage is tired and lacking in romance as he goes through a midlife crisis.

One night, after a long photo shoot, Bob retreats to the hotel bar. Charlotte, sitting at a table with John and friends, notices Bob and has a waiter bring him a bowl of peanuts from her table. Later, Bob and Charlotte have brief encounters each night at the hotel bar, until Charlotte invites Bob to meet up with some local friends of hers. Bob accepts and arrives later at her hotel room dressed in an outfit for a young appeal style. Meanwhile, the two begin a friendship bond through their adventures in Tokyo together while experiencing the differences between Japanese and American culture, and between their own generations.

On the penultimate night of his stay, Bob attracts the attention of the resident vocalist. The next morning, Bob awakens to find this woman in his room, having apparently slept with her. Charlotte arrives at his room to go out for breakfast only to find the woman in his room, leading to conflict and tension over a subsequent lunch. Later that night, during a fire alarm at the hotel, Bob and Charlotte reconcile and express how they will miss each other as they make one more trip back to the hotel bar.

On the following morning, Bob is set for his departure back to the United States. He tells Charlotte goodbye at the hotel lobby shortly before checking out and sadly watches her retreat back to an elevator. While riding in a taxi to the airport, Bob sees Charlotte on a crowded street and he gets out and goes to her. Bob embraces Charlotte and whispers something (substantially inaudible to the audience) in the tearful Charlotte's ear. The two share a kiss, say goodbye and Bob departs.

Cast

• Bill Murray as Bob Harris
• Scarlett Johansson as Charlotte
• Giovanni Ribisi as John
• Anna Faris as Kelly
• Fumihiro Hayashi as Charlie Brown
• Akiko Takeshita as Ms. Kawasaki
• François Du Bois as the Pianist
• Takashi Fujii as TV host (as Matthew Minami)
• Hiromix as herself

Title concept

The concept of "lost in translation" occurs throughout the film with a number of meanings.^[2] Bob, a Japanese director (Yutaka Tadokoro), and an interpreter (Takeshita) are on a set, filming the Suntory whisky commercial—specifically the Hibiki 17 Year whisky. In several exchanges, the director speaks several long sentences with passion, followed by a brief, inadequate translation from the interpreter.

Director [in Japanese, to the interpreter]: The translation is very important, O.K.? The translation.

Interpreter [in Japanese, to the director]: Yes, of course. I understand.

Director [in Japanese, to Bob]: Mr. Bob. You are sitting quietly in your study. And then there is a bottle of Suntory whisky 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, "Here's looking at you, kid,"—Suntory time!

Interpreter [In English, to Bob]: He wants you to turn, look in camera. O.K.?

Bob: ...Is that all he said?^[3]

The two central characters in the film—Bob and Charlotte, both Americans—find themselves 'lost' in a culture that is foreign to them, and their displaced location during their blossoming friendship enhances their connection with one another.

Production

According to Coppola she "wrote the movie with Bill Murray in mind"^[4] and pursued him relentlessly: "I got his voicemail number and I called him every day, and he called me back once like a month later but then my phone didn't work....I was supposed to meet him and then he had to cancel it. One of the low, low points was [...] I called Al Pacino 'cause I heard he lived in the same town as Bill Murray lived in."^[5] Murray never signed a contract, though he sounded interested, so Coppola "went to Japan and started filming. It was a huge relief when he showed up."^[4] The movie was filmed in 27 days in October 2002.^[6]

Various locations in Tokyo are showcased throughout the film; in particular, the bar featured prominently in the film is the New York Bar, situated on the 52nd floor of the Shinjuku Park Tower and part of the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel in Shinjuku, Tokyo.^[7] Other locations include the Heian Jingu shrine in Kyoto and the steps of the giant San-mon gate at Nanzen-ji, as well as the fashionable club Air in the Daikanyama district of Tokyo. All locations mentioned in the film are the names of actual places, bars, or businesses that existed in Tokyo at the time of filming. A map of Tokyo with the locations used in Lost In Translation highlighted is available in the Japanese DVD edition of the film.

Release

Box office

Lost in Translation was screened at the 2003 Telluride Film Festival.^[8] It was given a limited release on September 12, 2003 in 23 theaters where it grossed $925,087 on its opening weekend.^[9][10] It was given a wider release on October 3, 2003 in 864 theaters where it grossed $4.1 million on its opening weekend. The film went on to make $44.5 million in North America and $75.1 million in the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $119.7 million.^[11]

Critical response

Lost in Translation was boosted by critical acclaim and audience word-of-mouth. It has a rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes^[12] and a rating score of 89% based on 44 reviews on Metacritic.^[13] It was praised not only for Sofia Coppola's script and distinctive directing, but also for the work of Bill Murray. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and rated it the second best film of the year, describing it as "sweet and sad at the same time as it is sardonic and funny", while also praising Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.^[14] In his review for The New York Times, Elvis Mitchell wrote, "At 18, the actress gets away with playing a 25-year-old woman by using her husky voice to test the level of acidity in the air ... Ms. Johansson is not nearly as accomplished a performer as Mr. Murray, but Ms. Coppola gets around this by using Charlotte's simplicity and curiosity as keys to her character".^[15] Entertainment Weekly gave the film an "A" rating and Lisa Schwarzbaum wrote, "working opposite the embracing, restful serenity of Johansson, Murray reveals something more commanding in his repose than we have ever seen before. Trimmed to a newly muscular, rangy handsomeness and in complete rapport with his character's hard-earned acceptance of life's limitations, Murray turns in a great performance".^[16] In his review for The New York Observer, Andrew Sarris wrote, "The result is that rarity of rarities, a grown-up romance based on the deliberate repression of sexual gratification ... It's worth noting that at a time when independent films are exploding with erotic images edging ever closer to outright pornography, Ms. Coppola and her colleagues have replaced sexual facility with emotional longing, without being too coy or self-congratulatory in the process".^[17] USA Today gave the film three-and-a-half out of four stars and wrote, "Coppola's second feature offers quiet humor in lieu of the bludgeoning direct assaults most comedies these days inflict".^[18] Time magazine's Richard Corliss praised Murray's performance: "You won't find a subtler, funnier or more poignant performance this year than this quietly astonishing turn."^[19]

In his review for The Observer, Philip French wrote, "But while Lost in Translation is deeply sad and has a strongly Antonioniesque flavour, it's also a wispy romantic comedy with little plot and some well-observed comic moments".^[20] In his review for The Guardian, Joe Queenan praised Coppola's film for being "one of the few Hollywood films I have seen this year that has a brain; but more than that, it has a soul."^[21] In a separate Guardian article about the film, Kiku Day, a musician specializing in the shakuhachi, questioned the praise the film was receiving, saying she "couldn't help wondering not only whether I had watched a different movie, but whether the plaudits had come from a parallel universe of values"; according to Day, "[t]here is no scene where the Japanese are afforded a shred of dignity. The viewer is sledgehammered into laughing at these small, yellow people and their funny ways."^[22] Day also said "while shoe-horning every possible caricature of modern Japan into her movie, Coppola is respectful of ancient Japan. It is depicted approvingly, though ancient traditions have very little to do with the contemporary Japanese. The good Japan, according to this director, is Buddhist monks chanting, ancient temples, flower arrangement; meanwhile she portrays the contemporary Japanese as ridiculous people who have lost contact with their own culture."^[22]

Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Travers gave the film four out of four stars and wrote, "Before saying goodbye, they whisper something to each other that the audience can't hear. Coppola keeps her film as hushed and intimate as that whisper. Lost in Translation is found gold. Funny how a wisp of a movie from a wisp of a girl can wipe you out."^[23] J. Hoberman, in his review for the Village Voice, wrote, "Lost in Translation is as bittersweet a brief encounter as any in American movies since Richard Linklater's equally romantic Before Sunrise. But Lost in Translation is the more poignant reverie. Coppola evokes the emotional intensity of a one-night stand far from home—but what she really gets is the magic of movies".^[24] Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Six years later, we still have no clue what Bill Murray whispered into Scarlett Johansson's ear. And we don't want to. Why spoil a perfect film?"^[25]

The Los Angeles Film Critics Association and National Society of Film Critics voted Bill Murray best actor of the year.^[26][27] The New York Film Critics Circle also voted Murray best actor and Sofia Coppola best director.^[28] In addition, Coppola received an award for special filmmaking achievement from the National Board of Review.^[29] Lost in Translation also appeared on several critics' top ten lists for 2003.^[30]

Roger Ebert added it to his "great movies" list on his website.^[31]

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay in 2003.^[32][33] It was also nominated for Best Director and Best Picture, but lost both to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Bill Murray was also nominated for Best Actor, but lost to Sean Penn for Mystic River.

The film won Golden Globes for Best Musical or Comedy Motion Picture, Best Screenplay, and Best Musical or Comedy Actor. It was also nominated for Best Director, and Best Musical or Comedy Actress.^[34]

At the BAFTA film awards, Lost in Translation won the Best Editing, Best Actor and Best Actress awards. It was also nominated for best film, director, original screenplay, music and cinematography. It won four IFP Independent Spirit Awards, for Best Feature, Director, Male Lead, and Screenplay.^[35] The film was honored with the original screenplay award from the Writers Guild of America.^[36]

Soundtrack

Main article: Lost in Translation (soundtrack)

The film's soundtrack, supervised by Brian Reitzell, was released by Emperor Norton Records on September 9, 2003. It includes five songs by Kevin Shields, including one from his group My Bloody Valentine. Allmusic gave the soundtrack (four out of five stars), saying "Coppola's impressionistic romance Lost in Translation features an equally impressionistic and romantic soundtrack that plays almost as big a role in the film as Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson do."^[37]

Home media

Lost in Translation was released on DVD on February 3, 2004.^[38][39] Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A" rating and criticized "the disc's slim bonus features", but praised the film for standing "on its own as a valentine to the mysteries of attraction".^[40]

Lost in Translation was also released in high definition on the now defunct HD DVD format. A Blu-ray edition was released on January 4, 2011.^[41]

References

1. ^ "Lost in Translation". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lost_in_translation/. Retrieved 2010-03-19. 
2. ^ Rich, Motoko (2003-09-21). "What Else Was Lost in Translation". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E6DD103AF932A1575AC0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2007-11-04. "It doesn't take much to figure out that "Lost in Translation," the title of Sofia Coppola's elegiac new film about two lonely American souls in Tokyo, means more than one thing. There is the cultural dislocation felt by Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a washed-up movie actor, and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a young wife trying to find herself. They are also lost in their marriages, lost in their lives. Then, of course, there is the simple matter of language." 
3. ^ Rich, Motoko (2003-09-21). "What Else Was Lost in Translation". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A03E6DD103AF932A1575AC0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2007-11-04. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "Our Own Private Hollywood: Lost in Translation (2003)". Elle. October 7, 2010. http://www.elle.com/Pop-Culture/Cover-Shoots/Our-Own-Private-Hollywood/Our-Own-Private-Hollywood/%28imageIndex%29/23/%28play%29/false. Retrieved 2010-10-10. "I wrote the movie with Bill Murray in mind, who wouldn’t sign a contract, but he sounded interested. So I went to Japan and started filming. It was a huge relief when he showed up." 
5. ^ Sofia Coppola On Getting Bill Murray To Do Lost in Translation on YouTube
6. ^ Lost in Translation (DVD). Focus Features/Universal Studios. 2004. 
7. ^ "Tokyo Bars: New York Bar, Peak Bar, Hotel Park Hyatt Tokyo, Japan". Hyatt. http://tokyo.park.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/entertainment/lounges/index.jsp. Retrieved 2009-12-29. 
8. ^ Mitchell, Elvis (September 1, 2003). "Telluride Marks Its 30th Year With a Passing of Torches". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/01/movies/critic-s-notebook-telluride-marks-its-30th-year-with-a-passing-of-torches.html?scp=67&sq=%22Sofia+Coppola%22&st=nyt. Retrieved 2009-03-25. 
9. ^ "Lost in Translation - Box Office Data, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2003/LSTNT.php. Retrieved 2011-02-19. 
10. ^ "Lost in Translation (2003)". Box Office Mojo. http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lostintranslation.htm. Retrieved 2011-02-19. 
11. ^ "Lost in Translation". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lostintranslation.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
12. ^ "Lost in Translation". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lost_in_translation/. Retrieved 2010-12-05. 
13. ^ "Lost in Translation". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/lost-in-translation. Retrieved 2011-05-25. 
14. ^ Ebert, Roger (September 12, 2003). "Lost in Translation". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030912/REVIEWS/309120302/1023. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
15. ^ Mitchell, Elvis (September 12, 2003). was 22 years old at the time the film was shot. res=9803E1D8133BF931A2575AC0A9659C8B63 "An American in Japan, Making a Connection". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?Johansson was 22 years old at the time the film was shot. res=9803E1D8133BF931A2575AC0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
16. ^ Schwarzbaum, Lisa (September 10, 2003). "Lost in Translation". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,479937,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
17. ^ Sarris, Andrew (September 28, 2003). "Lonely Souls in a Strange Land: Lost in Translation Maps the Way". New York Observer. http://www.observer.com/node/48113. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
18. ^ Clark, Mike (September 12, 2003). "Comedy doesn't get lost in Translation". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/reviews/2003-09-11-translation_x.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
19. ^ Corliss, Richard (September 15, 2003). "A Victory for Lonely Hearts". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1005675,00.html?iid=chix-sphere. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
20. ^ French, Philip (January 11, 2004). "The odd Coppola". The Observer (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/jan/11/philipfrench. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
21. ^ Queenan, Joe (January 10, 2004). "A yen for romance". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2004/jan/10/features.joequeenan. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
22. ^ ^{a b} Day, Kiku (24 January 2004). "Totally lost in translation". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2004/jan/24/japan.film. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
23. ^ Travers, Peter (September 8, 2003). "Lost in Translation". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/lost-in-translation-20030908. Retrieved 2011-03-10. 
24. ^ Hoberman, J (September 9, 2003). "After Sunset". Village Voice. http://www.villagevoice.com/2003-09-09/film/after-sunset/1. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
25. ^ Geier, Thom; Jensen, Jeff; Jordan, Tina; Lyons, Margaret; Markovitz, Adam; Nashawaty, Chris; Pastorek, Whitney; Rice, Lynette; Rottenberg, Josh; Schwartz, Missy; Slezak, Michael; Snierson, Dan; Stack, Tim; Stroup, Kate; Tucker, Ken; Vary, Adam B.; Vozick-Levinson, Simon; Ward, Kate (December 11, 2009), "THE 100 Greatest MOVIES, TV SHOWS, ALBUMS, BOOKS, CHARACTERS, SCENES, EPISODES, SONGS, DRESSES, MUSIC VIDEOS, AND TRENDS THAT ENTERTAINED US OVER THE PAST 10 YEARS". Entertainment Weekly. (1079/1080):74-84
26. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (January 9, 2004). "LA Critics Choose Splendor, Friedmans Follow-Up, Texas Picks, and More". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/article/la_critics_choose_splendor_friedmans_follow-up_texas_picks_and_more/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
27. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (January 5, 2004). "National Film Critics Group Names American Splendor Top Film of ‘03". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/article/national_film_critics_group_names_american_splendor_top_film_of_03/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
28. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (December 16, 2003). "NY Critics Crown King Top Film of ‘03; SF & Boston Critics Also Weigh In". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/article/ny_critics_crown_king_top_film_of_03_sf_boston_critics_also_weigh_in/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
29. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (December 4, 2003). "National Board of Review Says Mystic River is Tops For 2003". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/article/national_board_of_review_says_mystic_river_is_tops_for_2003/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
30. ^ "Metacritic: 2003 Film Critic Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2007-12-25. http://web.archive.org/web/20071225093312/http://www.metacritic.com/film/awards/2003/toptens.shtml. Retrieved 2009-03-25. 
31. ^ "Lost in Translation (2003)". Chicago Sun-Times. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100804/REVIEWS08/100809996. 
32. ^ "Academy Awards Best Screenplays and Writers". Filmsite.org. http://www.filmsite.org/bestscreenplays4.html. Retrieved 2011-02-19. 
33. ^ "Box Office Prophets Film Awards Database: Best Adapted Screenplay 2003". Boxofficeprophets.com. http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/awards/display.cfm?awardsaxID=16&awardsyear=2003. Retrieved 2011-02-19. 
34. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (January 26, 2004). "Lord of the Rings and Lost in Translation Big Winners at Golden Globes". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/article/lord_of_the_rings_and_lost_in_translation_big_winners_at_golden_globes/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
35. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (February 28, 2004). "Lost In Translation Tops Independent Spirit Awards, Station Agent Another Big Winner". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/article/lost_in_translation_tops_independent_spirit_awards_station_agent_another_bi/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
36. ^ Hernandez, Eugene (February 23, 2004). "WGA Opts for Translation and Splendor, While SAG Goes for Rings". indieWIRE. http://www.indiewire.com/article/wga_opts_for_translation_and_splendor_while_sag_goes_for_rings/. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
37. ^ Phares, Heather. "Lost in Translation: Original Soundtrack". Review. Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r647688. Retrieved 2010-10-10. 
38. ^ var authorId = "" by Andy Patrizio (2004-02-03). "Lost in Translation - DVD Review at IGN". Dvd.ign.com. http://dvd.ign.com/articles/489/489848p1.html. Retrieved 2011-02-19. 
39. ^ "Lost in Translation reviews". Metacritic. 2003-09-12. http://www.metacritic.com/movie/lost-in-translation. Retrieved 2011-02-19. 
40. ^ Fonseca, Nicholas (February 13, 2004). "Lost in Translation". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,588239,00.html. Retrieved 2009-03-16. 
41. ^ 'Lost in Translation' Blu-ray Detailed and Delayed, a September 30, 2010 article from High-Def Digest

External links

• Official website
• Lost in Translation at the Internet Movie Database
• Lost in Translation at AllRovi
• Lost in Translation at Rotten Tomatoes
• Lost in Translation at Metacritic
• Lost in Translation at Box Office Mojo
• Guardian article on the film's perceived racism

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Chicago	Golden Globe for Best Picture - Musical or Comedy 2004	Succeeded by Sideways