Lost In Translation (2003) (Includes Movie Cash Offer)

Lost in... Lost in Translation

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Feb 10, 2004 | 4 out of 5 found this Lost In Translation (2003) review helpful

Pros: Beautifully shot film about the spaces between.

Cons: Not for the syrupy romantic type...or the restless.

Most romance movies make us feel something because of what some amazing thing the attractive actor/actress would do out of sheer love -- and I'm all for that which is why I would openly admit that as a guy, I really like romance movies (comedy or... otherwise) and really missed that there hasn't been a truly good one almost all year! But...the thing with all these actions is that we are left to wonder what it was IN the person to prompt such amazing acts of proclamation of love in the first place? Which is why it is so important to have charismatic actors and actresses play the lead because they automatically infuse the characters with some magical essence so we as the audience will go -- ah, I see why he/she's ga-ga over him/her without our ever getting to know what's IN them that's valuable. Clever and snappy dialogue does not reflect qualities worth our love -- we know that in real life. But that is usually the extent of character development in romance movies... Am I making ANY sense? But here is where Lost in Translation is different. The story sets up a confined context in which we can understand why they cling to one another, from a place in our core...and the movie then goes along to observe the sense of belonging between them rather than have them perform spectacular acts of love or endure outrageous torture to prove their love. It spent more time examining the why they love each other instead of what they would do if they were in love. The whole movie examines their relationship through what happens in their relationship with others...Scarlett's husband forgot she was there when he runs into that model he used to know. Bill quickly excuses himself in an encounter with a gorgeous woman who was fawning over him so he could have an undivided goodbye with Scarlett when she stepped out of the elevator. The whole movie is full of subtle comparisons like that. Halfway through the movie, we feel for these characters because what they held onto was in defiance of what everyone else was toward them. Even in the larger context of the cultural divide. True, the context of the story was narrow -- but in a way, everyday we are all surrounded by fast-talking Japanese men and women who do weird things we don't understand. Right? Then we find our loved one and we go away to discover the rest of our lives with them -- and we trust they will treat us differently than the rest of the world.*sigh* Please watch this movie.And the extras... they're short -- but added greatly to the feel of the film. After watching the little short on Sofia and crew's adventure making the film, I got the sense that all that was in Scarlett's character reflected some of that which is in Sofia. It was kind of strange, actually -- but Sofia infused much of her goodness into the character of Charlotte. In some odd way, that made me feel even better about the film.Enjoy. Read more Less