Title: Lost in Translation
Director: Sofia Coppola
Writer: Sofia Coppola
Type: drama/comedy/love
Level: R
Film: 105 minutes
Issue: Focus Features
Release date: September 12, 2003 (Los Angeles/New York),
Awarded: Best Actress of countercurrent competition of the 60th Venice Film Festival
Starring:
Scarlett Johansson --- Charlotte
Bill Murray --- Bob Harris
1. Brief Introduction
Bob (Bill Murray) is doing a commercial, parlaying his fifteen minutes of movie stardom. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is just graduated from college, recently married, and tagged along with her husband, a photographer on assignment. He's married with children, but he's never home. She's supporting her husband, but has no idea what she wants to do with her own life. Both are searching for the meaning of their lives, looking at the situation from different points of view. A person's lifetime is filled with self examination. Why am I here? What am I doing? Is this as good as it gets? Bob and Charlotte find each other fulfilling certain needs. Charlotte needs Bob's attention and humor, and Bob needs someone he can talk to (Bob "talks" with his wife, but they are not really talking). Bob helps Charlotte by answering her questions regarding life and direction, while Charlotte helps Bob by reminding him how much he loves his children and his wife. We always think something will happen that between over 40 years of marriage man who is lose interesting with his life and just early 20s marriage young lady who is feel confused with her life. However, they did not like we saw in the movie or is expected what we supported that happened. But when people saw this movie, they always support something happen even though that will not appear.
2. Analysis
There are the specific 3 part analyses of the film.
2.1 Start with Culture clashes.
Firstly, when Charlotte appeared on the scene, actually just some parts of the body were already made most of the audience hormones up in a instant, but nothing happened in the story behind. However, it was enough to let audiences to watch this movie.
When the movie stars Bob Harris (Bill Murray) went to Tokyo to shoot commercial and lived in the hotel. He standout average height like a joke with a group of Japanese people in the elevator. When he was watching TV in the hotel room, suddenly he saw early movie which is one of his movie and speak Japanese, reminiscent us some bad dubbing when we saw the old American movie. When he was shooting commercial, because of the Japanese cultural that is hard communication also different language that let people feel helpless and laugh. At the beginning, he hates the unfamiliar city, and disturbed him, but he is a polite, professional ethics, so he still want to finish this work and go back his city as soon as possible. The feeling is not sure, not safe when he was in Tokyo.
Charlotte (Scarlett, Jonson) is renowned photographer's wife, because there is no work and boring she followed her husband to Tokyo. Her husband was working with extremely enthusiasm. She tried to feel in Tokyo and Japanese culture. She felt sightseeing, but was unable to communicate with her feel this kind of culture also is too far away from her, she felt puzzled and boring, nobody cares about her feelings, nobody listened to her. There is nothing interesting when she was in the hotel and was watching out of the window on streets. She felt suspicious to her marriage and self worth.
2.2 Develop with Communication and understanding.
The film has two very good lines of marriage and family. Bob Harris facing a mid-life crisis, the sign is for the family's worry and fear of family responsibility. Charlotte wandering in marriage and ideal of edge, early marriage, frustrated that her husband was working, fear of bothered her everywhere. These two deputy lines are rich, small details, contains a fax and an eye.
Every day we meet different people, but 99.9 percent we pass. But there always let people feel there will something happen when they meet someone. We always expect to meet someone who can bring unexpected and surprise. So we can meet is a conditioned coincidence.
When they tell the climax of marriage and ideal, the control of the ability was maximum capacity showed by Sofia Coppola. Soothing rhythm, calm clips, subtle changes, the feeling all of lens are precise, director of the true feelings, nature, without touching SOB.
In Tokyo, we must talk about the strong cultural conflict. Bob Harris has antipathetic with Tokyo sense from the first shot and then can feel the conflict in Japanese culture have.
Various traditional cultural and cooperate with the leading roles selection within. The most memorable scene is about after Bob Harris telling, Charlotte sees a traditional Japanese weddings, how wonderful it is.
When two people meet with the mutual understanding they do not need language, because they have similar loneliness, empty and disappointed in their eyes. There is no way to stop Harris to talk to Charlotte. Because they know each other and eliminate age limits. Two people who could not find the communication vocabulary in the splendid flourishing in the strange. They eat together, Karaoke, together with silence and lost... At that time Harris feel some love in his heart, Charlotte feel some happy in her life. Just a few minutes Tokyo changed, they found there are still some familiar things in Tokyo, it is a real life, they enjoyed this kind of life. They do not want to leave. But in their own real life, they would not become together, both of them know that, so they just control themselves until leave.
2.3 End up with leaving.
Leaving not means ending.
At last, when Harris is leaving he got off the car and found Charlotte in the crowd, they hug and whispers. The psychedelic background music was slow and emptiness. I guess that is about Harris told Charlotte take care of herself, but with this sentimentality hug and kiss, this story of two individuals can perfect end, they can convince their marriage, face the life again, when they feel lonely again, probable they will have a smile on their lips because of this kiss!
3. Conclusion
In this movie the director used a lot of Dolly to show roles feeling and their emotion, especially one night Bob and Charlotte went outside together to meet their new friends in Tokyo and went to bar and went to Karaoke. The director used number of Dolly and the effect was really good. Also at the end, when Charlotte was leaving and Bob wanted to see her last time. The director use dolly to express seeking, hoping and speed, when they found each other, the camera angle changed, the director use close shot to express their face.
The film with the light and color processing were very successful, they are decisive roles to express atmosphere with emotion. For example, at the beginning when male leading role arrived Tokyo, everything seems different and he could not adapt this case. He felt loneliness and boring, the environment color and light are dark and dim sad.
The whole movie’s script structure including character set, the development and the climax are very accord with regularity of this subject. If you are interested viewers this kind of movies you would not depressing. And put two Americans in the prosperous Tokyo, itself likes appeal to American audiences, and they have a good photographer for details of the screen, the highlight of color, make the film in visual sensitivity is not weak. So this is a popular and artistic film, easy to get good feeling from Oscar judges, but the lack of film is too depth and easy to let the audience into dull and boring.
No comments:
Post a Comment