Lost in Translation

Lost In Translation (Coppola, 2003), is one of the top ten films of the decade (Ford, A, 2010). So what exactly does it mean and how did it get to be a top ten film of the decade? Was it the cast consisting of Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson? Could it be because it was written and directed by Sofia Coppola?

Lost In Translation is about Bob Harris (Murray) a washed up movie star in Japan, who lives by doing television commercials, and interviews on television, to keep money rolling in. He does this long enough to post pone going home to his wife and children, whom his marriage is falling apart slowly. It is also about Charlotte (Johansson), a newlywed whose partner is always leaving her alone to do his photography job. Bob and Charlotte meet and it soon becomes clear that they are very lost in Japan, and not just because they can't speak or understand the language. Major themes that appear with them include feeling lost, isolated and trapped in a world, which is different from the one, they knew.

Examples of the feeling of being trapped and isolated are throughout the film; the feeling of loneliness Charlotte experiences when her partner leaves her, and she hangs out in her room or wanders through Japan and goes to the temples by herself. Bob, however experiences these emotions when he goes onto game shows, talk shows or even filming a commercial where he doesn't understand and his translator seems to be missing out vital parts of the directions.

Ford, A. (2010). The Best Movies of the Decade. Retrieved January 30, 2010, from http://www.filmofilia.com/2010/01/29/the-best-movies-of-the-decade/