''There's nothing more than this..''. Review on Lost in Translation Movie

The Plot:

Lost In Translation is perhaps one of the best movies of Bill Murray that I have ever seen. It portrays the life of two American nationals,on a short visit to Tokyo. Bill Murray plays the role of Bob Harris,a faded middle aged Hollywood actor who is there to do an ad on a certain whisky brand and Scarlett Johansson,the young Charlotte who accompanies her photographer husband on a business trip.

On the face of it there is nothing really common between the two characters,almost antipodes of each other. Bob is old and suave, slow and fading out fast with dark grey hair. And Charlotte is young and beautiful,bubbling with exuberance. Yet there

is one thing that is common-their haunting loneliness,a sudden eruption of boredom and staticness in their lives.Bob appears to be dissilusioned,perhaps a reflection of his 25 year old failed marriage,or his failing profession, and Charlotte begins to feel the nagging monotony of a marriage that has just started,doubting her decision to get married,of her husbands gross neglect,wondering if her life was always going to be the same,unmoving,unchanging.

They stay in the same hotel and meet occcasionally here and there,a quick ''Hello'',a short stealing of glances.But thats all.However,they eventually meet. And forced by the utter void in their life that just got worse in an alien country and its customs, they become really good friends. Each of them shares the world as they see it,their marriage,their past,spending hours together-a world where they can say and share everything ,germinating from the knowledge that they are total strangers,and each would depart soon never to meet again,forgetting everything they've ever said.

And in the process a potent,invincible relationship fosters. The movie's end is simply magic. I dont think there could have been a better,befitting end. Bob rushes to Charlotte in the middle of the road. He embraces her,and askes her-''Why are you crying?''. And she replies,barely audible-''I'll miss you..''.He kisses and hugs her goodbye-''I know,I am going to miss you,too...''-a sweet whisper in the ear. The next instant Bob gets into his car,and Charlotte disapperars somewhere into the crowd.

My review

I believe Coppola selected Tokyo for a perfect reason. Both Bob and charlotte were lacking in something that they didnt know.Or perhaps,they never had an occasion to know. There is very little time for personal retrospection in a world that is full

of relations and well-wishers. Friends,family members,colleagues keep pouring their visits,advice,happy tales-something that becomes a soft cotton to the unending void in our life.The gap is very much still there,we just dont see it. Tokyo with its unusual customs, unspeakable and impossibly unintelligible language,an alien black-hole, takes the soft-cotton-pad away. And its then that the characters start feeling the void.The oddity of the Japanese customs and language totally isolates them,and the void keeps getting bigger,taking them to an almost trance like state,seeking something or someone that would free them,seeking a sink that would absorb all they ever wanted to say,and in that effort they discover each other. And in the act of discovering the other person,they suddenly start finding themselves,their true identity.

Also this movie is not a love-story,not at all. Its about how strange, no-label relationships can happen,anywhere,and with a spontaneity that is amazing. Rising out of one's loneliness,longing to connect in a world that has suddenly lost all meaning (the Tokyo metaphor).Bob sings to her in the pub-''...You know there's nothing more than this...''. And that is the whole truth of it all. Simple and coherent.

Perhaps this movie is also about the gradual cultural shift from Orientalism to Westernism. Why would the Japanese bring in an old failed actor to lend his looks and language to a product that is entirely Japanese. The translator's statement- ''He wants you to turn to the camera. With intensity!'' brings out the cultural hypocrisy of the Oriental world,wanting to adopt the very lifestyle of Bob and Charlotte that they are trying hard to forget-getting lost in Translation. But thats only a thought.

Movie Appeal:

Overall the movie is really good. Very simple and thought provoking.Bill Murray manages a comic look at times.In one scene the Japanese director passionately speaks out a 100 word sentence. And it turns that all he wanted was for Bob to turn,look in the camera and say the lines. ''Is that all he said!''-Bill asks very much in doubt! Then there is the scene of the Japanese prostitute who proves the fact that the Japanese are really bad at pronouncing ''l''!But please dont expect too much of comedy. The movie is full of subtleties. Listen to the dialogues between Bob and Charlotte, savor the ackground music and be amazed at the simplicity of it all.