I don't get "Lost In Translation"

I don't understand why this film got so much acclaim. I found it only mildly amusing and, in the end, fairly boring. I kept waiting for something to happen (well, not necessarily some action but at least some clear character development). This film just never clicked for me. The two friends with whom I saw the film felt the same way.

I know that some of you mentioned this film and Bill Murray in the "Oscar Picks" thread, and the film was obviously a critical and box office success. So what did I miss? For those of you who thought this was an excellent film, what specifically did you like about it?

 

I saw Lost In Translation at the same time as the Chicago Film Festival. There were a lot of great independent films last year (we watched at least forty-five) and found that Lost In Translation was (at best) an OK film but certainly not a great one. Some of the best films we saw were at the Toronto Film Festival. Most of what I liked at these festivals were documentaries (e.g., The Agronomist, My Architect, The Five Obstructions). Other films I liked (non-doc) were Pieces of April and Goodbye Dragon Inn (to name only a few).

 

I agree it is an ordinary movie at best. I think a lot of the buzz was because the director Sofia Coppola is one of the current "it" girls, and you also had Bill Murray playing against type.

 

The big question is, "What did Bill Murray whisper in her ear at the end?" I know...

He said, "Steve Hoffman's Who's Next is amazing!"

Evan

 

guess you have to be a middle aged man who is/has been infatuated with a young woman.

it can be an life-altering, uplifting, ego and self-esteem boost. sex need not be in the equation.

outstanding film, outstanding acting. should have won the oscar.

 

I also loved it and Bill Murray did a fantastic job. I agree you may need to be a middle-aged man going thru a midlife crisis who suddenly befriends a bewitching beautiful intelligent girl. The kind of girl that can reaffirm your life ( and without sex coming into the equation).

Sofia did a remarkable job.

 

Sofia so good !

Lets see what her next cult classic is going to be?

 

How old are you? Some people are not expected to get it. Do you get the Quiznos commercials? This film is about Mid Life and the complications of marraige.

Lost In Translation is similar to me as the move 10 with Dudley Moore.

Don't try to get it...either you do or you dont or you will eventually.

 

Each to their own, but, IMHO, it was really enjoyable. A lovely gentle movie. Not "wizz bang in your face" and all the better for it.

The key for me is that it made me think...and hey, you're discussing it here, so it has left its mark, even though you didn't get it - if you see what I mean!!!

Maybe being British has something to do with me enjoying it?

Bill Murray deserved an Oscar!

 

Lost In Translation was just a cute little movie narrowly defined by a relationship between the two main characters. I loved the movie, but everyone I've talked to who has seen it didn't like it. There's really nothing to get -- I simply enjoyed the subtle acting, the growing fondness between the two main characters and, of course, Bill Murray. Like I said to my friends who disliked the movie, My God, this isn't Con Air!

 

It captured for me the weird time-slippage travel can bring and the unexpected human interaction that occurs as a result. I like the movie a lot, mainly for that dreamy feeling but also for Bill Murray's understated performance. In fact, a lot of this movie is understated, especially the dialogue. So much is said with so few words. However, I do agree that this movie is not for everyone. Thankfully.

 

Rented this on Saturday evening. I enjoyed the film and I am glad I had the chance to see it. It dragged a bit at times but, still there was a special quality about it. Regardless of the relationship between the Bill Murray character and the young Woman, was the humor in the culture shock for Westerners in Tokyo. I found that aspect most entertaining...

Bob

 

I thought the movie was fantastic. For me, I've been there. Not in Japan, or in a hotel but in my case it was on a plane. Many years ago I was flying back from London and I bonded with a girl. We were both talking about ditching our lives and maybe getting on a return flight to London or anywhere from home. For her it was her job and the stress of the life she was returning to. For me, it was the fear of getting married, responsibilities, older (I was just engaged, etc.). It was a mutual quite state of panic. The movie rang very true to me.....

 

On the other hand, it's possible that a lot of the buzz is because there are many who think this is a superb film.

 

I thought LOST IN TRANSLATION did a good job at depicting two characters in their respective life crises, their alienation, and eventually their connection, via humor derived from the simple premise, rather than forced on the film and viewer with histrionics and plot cliches. No fireworks, pat endings, or cheap laughs; everything occurs organically. Granted, Sofia Coppola had a leg up on the indie competition because of her name, but this is very good stuff, and deserved its good press.

I did find the well-earned praise heaped on Bill Murray's performance confusing, as many reviews mentioned his role as a stretch or even against type, when it was exactly within type: an ironic outsider, rolling with the punches with bemused self-possession.

 

"We'll always have Tokyo..."

I thought the movie was overrated. Great soundtrack though...any movie that uses "Just Like Honey" by J&M Chain is OK by me!

 

James, your right and I didn't mean to sound so flip or to brush the movie off as bad. I liked it enough to buy it and thought Bill Murray did a very good job with his part. He is playing a person most of us would look at and say has it all and yet there are several big holes in his life. Coppola has now done two good movies, but I don't think they are great ones.

 

I love the film, but I can understand why others wouldn't. I tend to respond to the subtleties and relaxed pace that characterize the film and the performances in it; I know a lot of other people don't. There are a few people in my office who say they fell asleep during it; they like a snappier pace, and that's fine ... To each their own, as has been said.

What did I like about it? First of all, I think it was beautifully shot. The locations and style of photography really drew me in. Also, I don't think Bill Murray has ever given a better performance. I was literally mesmerized by him in this movie.

In addition, the story touched me. I haven't had that specific kind of experience with a young woman who's not my wife, but nevertheless I related strongly to Bill Murray's character and the things he was feeling. And I tend to like that type of "unconsummated affair" story.

The only film of 2003 I liked better was American Splendor.

 

Definitely over rated. A simple slice of life movie, but very unremarkable.

 

Thanks to all for their responses. I guess I'm left with the impression that some people just connect with this film and others don't. Believe me, it isn't because the issue of middle age is foreign to me. It also isn't that I always like fast-paced films and cannot get absorbed into slowly evolving character studies. (For example, I rather liked a lot of those Merchant-Ivory films of the 1990's.)

 

What I enjoyed about it was it showed a man & a woman becoming friends. At no time did they rip each other's clothes off & do it on the kitchen counter. It was about a man knee deep in mid-life crisis & a woman pretty much ignored, that like each other from the beginning, enjoy each other's company & fall in love by the end of the movie. Very tastefully done.

 

Well I really enjoyed it as I have been going through something very much like what the main characters in the movie went through. For what it's worth I am middle aged and live a pretty mundane day to day life these days. I am not going to go into details but I have reconnected with someone on an intellectual level from my distant past and the movie hit home on quite a few levels. We both are somewhat content with were we are at but were looking for some intellectual stimulation that we seem to not be getting at home. Thank god that we live 2000 miles apart. lol I also enjoyed how the languages in the film seemed to be light years apart in how the lengths of what was said translated into each other. I saw Bill Murray playing Bill Murray in the movie. You also have to understand that I am one who enjoys indie films and I happen to live in Park City Utah which every January for ten days we do play host to the Sundance Film Festival. I will go and see between ten and fifteen movies depending on time and if it is something I want to see. I did pick it up the day it was released, I did go see it back in January on the big screen.

 

I enjoyed it--thought it was very well done. I think's it worth mentioning that this was a pretty low budget film, shot in a hurry; Coppola wrote the script, and specifically w/Murray in mind.

While her family name (she's also married to Spike Jonze) can be a door-opener, it wouldn't get her very far w/o talent.

How good is good, and is it "great"? I think it's one of the ten best of the year, and it's a step up from her initial effort (Virgin Suicides), and that's saying a lot.

It's not a "mass appeal" kind of film--more of a mood piece, and she captures something very subtle and intangible. Not easy to do at all, even with a big budget.

I think if there had been a plot line and more action (she fights w/hubbie, flys to some island w/Murray) it would've blown the whole thing.

doug

 

If it wasn't for the glimpse of Japan, I really would of hated the film. Everybody else I know who saw the film disliked it and I only liked it marginally. It's low budjet shooting is plainly evident on the DVD. It's the worst looking DVD's of a new film I've seen lately. There's massive video noise in a great many scenes proably because the shots were not properly lighted? I don't suspect bad DVD authoring.

I didn't like the story at all. I did get what she was trying to convey but didn't find it at all entertaining. I think it's laughable that the film was up for any awards and sad that it won an Oscar.

 

Wow...

I just really disagree with this brushoff.

However I must say that none of my friends 'get it' either. I think we've all become so desensitized that we can't appreciate a movie that conveys so much *so quietly* (despite the ripping rock soundtrack). I also think it loses a lot on the small screen. In the theatre the mood was palpable.

As a screenwriter I can tell you this movie broke a lot of rules (at least as far as American studio productions go, that is) and the writers I've talked to all love it for that reason, among many others.

I'm reminded of the American Indian comic on SNL who ends his jokes with tribal arcana and waits for the laughs that are never going to come--(indicating a bird flying overhead) "Whooosh!! Like a hawk!!!"

I thought it was unbelievable that Billy Crystal actually *apologized* to Bill Murray during the broadcast, for not winning. I've never seen that before.

(Shrugs) Anyway, if you don't get it, don't worry, like someone else said, "There's always 'Con Air.'