Lost In Translation
- wadE
Building off of Alex's review of Lost In Translation, found
here, I'd like to add some thoughts of my
own since I saw it this past weekend.
I agree with much of what Alex said, it is daunting to describe this movie. I liked the movie, but with some
better writing I would have loved this movie. Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray carry this movie. Some could
argue that the long extended scenes of the Japan, and the noticeable lack of dialogue bring a minimalist sense of
"less is more".
I would argue that point until I was blue in the face. However you look at the storyline (if they
are soul mates, or lost souls who cling to each other in a foreign land, etc.), you know the two characters
have a strong bond; but how much more enjoyable would it have been to see that bond form with conversations and
scenes between them to make you feel even stronger for them, as opposed to brief glimpses of them talking about
marriage, and figuring out "who you are"?
What I'm saying is that I left the theatre thinking their relationship was shallow, and if they did meet back
in the states, without the backdrop and situation of Japan, would they have anything to talk about?
I would like to think yes, but we'll never know.
Now don't get me wrong, I'm not looking for the classic US cinema closure, in fact I'm actually asking for
more ambiguity. Writer Sofia Coppola could have and should have opened them up. It was a long enough movie to
keep the great sequences of scenes in Japan, but include dialogue to develop her characters and make the
audience care more deeply about them, and wonder what might have been.
Then again, we have to realize that it was Sofia Coppola writing this. We can only ask for so much.
What do you think? Drop us a line at webmaster@simpleprop.com and give us some
feedback. Maybe we'll even run your letters in future Gambits. 'The Daily Gambit' is updated every weekday.
