Lost in Translation

[Arwen Undomiel]

I watched it yesterday, finally. I watched a good 2/3 of it, then I had to do a few things before finishing it late last night. In those few hours in between, I found myself thinking about it alot, which made the rest of the film more interesting to watch, IMO.

I loved this movie. The characters were so real and the cinematography was wonderful. The shots of Tokyo and the scenes in the temple areas were just beautiful. I loved how they showed Charlotte staring out the window so much, and the few scenes of her sitting on the windowsill with the city far, far below. This is one of those rare films that have you thinking and putting your own spin on where the characters went from here. For instance:

But I still shed a couple of tears at the end when they said goodbye, that was so sad.

My thought about the end is, was it really goodbye?

(But please, Ms. Coppola - don't spoil it by making a sequel.)

 

[jidujiao]

Though, personally if you are gonna accept the large amount of violence in The Passion of the Christ . . . to look down upon a what 5 minute strip club scene seems . . . kinda silly?

though I don't know if um the person who brought up the strip scene saw passion . . . but this is just kinda an example of some rather confusing logic that seems to spring up at times.

I don't think so at all. Do you know what struggles others have? Who are you to dictate that if someone's conscience is bothered by seeing pornographic images then it MUST also be bothered by seeing violence? Who appointed you the conscience logician? I say, if it makes you uncomfortable, don't watch it. Turn it off, fast forward, whatever.

Logic has never had anything to do with conscience, but I know I have often used logic to explain why what I know to be wrong isn't really wrong. Anyway, as you said,

Whatever.

 

[gracefulmouse]

I really didn't enjoy the movie. I thought it was boring. I couldn't feel any sympathy for the characters, who were totally self-absorbed. That's basically what I took from the movie- that life without God is, well, empty. (But there are various films that, while secular, do a much better job of reflecting on emptiness... American Beauty comes to mind, if you are OK with the over the top sexual content in order to see the message). Can you imagine how it could have been different if she'd been reading scripture or checking out the local religious sites rather than listening to a new-age tape about finding yourself? That was the one part that clicked- it really showed that inward-focused futility you can get into without God.

Regardless, I don't understand what secular audiences saw in it either. I just did not get this movie.


(I haven't read the whole thread but I could empathize with TerraSin about the nude scene, btw- I watched it with my *husband* and I was uncomfortable... and I am totally one of those "out in the world" believers, it was just too much. Yuck!)

 

[ShieldmaidenforChrist]

hated it,

 

[MrsGnomeCrusher]

hated it,

I actually enjoyed it. Why? I can't really pin point why I enjoyed the movie. Perhaps it was just . . . different from most produced movies? I like it when I read books or see movies that step outside of the box.

 

[BeachBlonde]

bill murray has always struck me as dry humor.
I found this film just as dry.

 

[Jenster]

Didn't like it. Partly because everyone was saying how wonderful they thought it was, so I went in wanting to love it. But the characters went nowhere. No realizations. No growth. No hope for either marriage. And I most objected to the emotional infidelity. But, the jokes about Japan were funny and the movie was cinematographically beautiful.

 

[AstroFan]

I've seen it twice. I didn't really enjoy it the first time, possibly because I was interrupted several times in the middle of the film for other reasons, but I just watched it again recently(over a year after my first viewing) and loved it. Even though the ending was a little frustrating, I liked how it let people draw their own conclusions.

 

[soblessed53]

You sure got me,I found it unbelievably boring and disgusting.

 

[SUNSTONE]

You sure got me,I found it unbelievably boring and disgusting.

Ok boring I can understand. It's one of the few movies that I have fell asleep watching.
But "disgusting"?

 

[soblessed53]

Someone please tell me what is so good about this movie? We rented it the other night and I had to fight myself to not get up and do something more interesting. It was not funny, it was not dramatic, it had no action, it wasn;t artistic... and I don't even wanna talk about the strip club part... I was watching it with my MOM! Does anyone else get very uncomfortable when you are watching a nude scene with a parent? hehehe

Anyways, what did people think was good about it? I can't think of anything. :\

CJ

I'm with you all the way here. Not only was it bad and tasteless but it was incredibly boring! I wish I had not even bothered.

 

[El Brujo]

I found Lost In Translation to be mind-numbingly bad. Sure, the cinematography was great, but shallow, unsympathetic characters tend to get in the way of good cinematography. It was like an episode of Seinfeld with no jokes.

Sophia Coppala's movies tend to have strong themes about young women who lead sheltered lives and are unsure of their goals. She needs to either get some therapy or go out and live a little before she makes any more movies.

Incidentally, there's a Thai movie called Last Life In The Universe that is everything Lost In Translation tried to be. Interesting characters (a suicidal, neat freak Japanese man in Thailand, meets - through tragic circumstances - a sloppy Thai girl with a lust for life), good dialogue (much of it in broken English), funny jokes (the cameo by Takashi Miike is great), and cinematography (by Chris Doyle) that makes Lost In Translation look like the Zapruder film. The movie stars Tadanobu Asano, from Ichi The Killer and Zatoichi - it's only a matter of time before he breaks through in American films.

 

[soblessed53]

"I found Lost In Translation to be mind-numbingly bad. Sure, the cinematography was great, but shallow, unsympathetic characters tend to get in the way of good cinematography. It was like an episode of Seinfeld with no jokes."

Now that is a great and on-the-mark description!

Thank you so much for telling us about" Last Life In The Universe",this truly sounds interesting and like a vast improvement over LIT.

 

[SUNSTONE]

Lost in Translation is a great sleeping pill.

 

[scooby7688]

I watch this movie and at the end of it I said to myself what was that.


In Christ's Love, Scott