synopsis:

american movie star Bob Harris goes to tokyo to do some commercials for Santori Whiskey. Bob's jet lag is so bad that he cannot sleep. Working through his commercials is a surreal experience. All his instructions come through translators, and he is too tired to think straight. He spends his time in the hotel bar, where he meets Charlotte, a kindred spirit. She is in Tokyo while her husband John, a photographer, is on assignment. They are a young couple, and Charlotte is beginning to realize that there are huge differences between them. She is extremely bored, and when John is around he seems to busy to notice. Things worsen when Kelly, a model, arrives and asks John to photograph her. Bob's marriage isn't great either, and the two begin spending time together to alleviate their loneliness.

Their relationship is at the heart of 'Lost in Translation'. Decades separate them, yet the things they have in common bring them together. They are both smart people, with wry senses of humor. Any other movie would have them hopping into bed together, but what Coppola does seems deeper and intimate. Bob and Charlotte's relationship vacillates between father-daughter and lover dynamics. But neither seems to be a comfortable fit. Often when the two are discussing topics in the father-daughter mode, Bob's lack of interest is hardly befitting a father. But even as they're aware that a romance is out of the question, Charlotte is jealous when Bob has a misguided one-nighter with a lounge singer.

Bob and Charlotte's big adventure reaches a lovely scene when they confess their most personal fears to each other, while lying on a bed, their hands not touching, their lips not meeting. when Bob tells her how he felt when his children were born, their relationship for a moment slips through the net of classification."Let's not ever come back here," says Charlotte in the end of the movie to bob. "Because it'll never be as much fun again." There's no point in Bob asking for her number, or for Charlotte asking for his because this connection can never, should never be prolonged or revived beyond this gently ecstatic moment. then the two people are sperated when bob flies back home.

about this movie:

'lost in translation', Starring Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi and Anna Faris, is about loneliness, alienation, and seeing the absurdity of it all when you are seperated from your 'normal' environment.'Lost in Translation' is notable for its quiet moments. Coppola is happy to have the camera linger on Tokyo life, with little dialogue, and minimal music. Tokyo streets are full with crowds of people, impossibly tall buildings, and neon everywhere, reminding of the video-clip of motorcycle emptiness. Coppola also is sparse sometimes for dialogue. Bob and Charlotte don't need to talk constantly, they are happy with each other's company. One really good decision Coppola makes is to forgo the use of subtitles. By not seeing what the Japanese people are saying, the viewer is just as lost as Bob is. Everything in this movie is about mood, one of gentle confusion, and Coppola deftly combines all the elements together to give Lost in Translation an overall cohesive feeling. One can hardly wait to see what she does next.