Starring BILL MURRAY, SCARLET JOHANSSEN.
DIRECTED by SOFIA COPPOLA
Aside from some beautifully shot scenes of both rural and urban Japan in all its glory, this interesting directorial effort from Sofia Coppola (of Francis Ford Coppola-fame, but still talented enough to make her own mark in the movie industry) is a gentle drama of such subtle and slow-moving proportions that it might just be the most boring film ever made... that is, after 'Solaris.'
Murray plays an American actor doing some filming for an advert in Japan where he meets a similarly disillusioned-with-life young American woman in Tokyo with her hotshot photographer husband. Murray is a married man but seems morosely dissatisfied with his lot in life, and the friendship that he strikes up with Scarlet Johannsen's sultry character is the one and only thread of this movie. While Murray has long been renowned for his 'funny man' personality, 'Lost in Translation' doesn't even try to be funny. However, it does have some tender moments of touching drama, though there is no passion in the friendship that naturally develops: simply mutual respect for each other.
The open-ended conclusion to their time together might be hugely disappointing, but the fact that they both part ways and return to their prospective partners is testament to some sort of persistence on their parts to try make things work out. In 'Lost in Translation' there is no violence or scandal, no plot-twists or turns. The main characters feel lost in an alien country and stuck in seemingly unfulfilling marriages, and the fact that this drama is realistically down-to-earth and coolly charming does ensure that, while it certainly isn�t the most exciting, thought-provoking or awe-inspiring movie you will ever see, it is an unforgettable movie experience for being so boldly unique in its style.
Hell, even if you don't like Murray's films on account of his starring in them, 'Lost in Translation' still boasts such awesome shots of rural Japan - and Mount Fuji in particular - that there is something of a travel documentary's freshness to this movie that's charming. So, in that respect, all is not lost.
(Steve Rudd)