Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

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  • Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

    In another thread several people criticized Lost in Translation as being overrated or sucking or whatever else. I happen to not agree with that assessment, having seen in 3 times in the theater and purchased the DVD within a week of its release. The challenge, of course, is in convincing the naysayers that it was a good film.

    This thread isn't to say the film sucked or didn't suck, but to break it down to its most fundamental elements and then decide if the film worked.

    The first step is to ask everyone what they think Lost in Translation was about? In as few words as possible, what's the theme? What's the message? What is the movie about? Think of it as a tagline or logline at most ... tell us what the film meant to you ... it can be as simple as a single word theme or a couple sentence logline. I just want a feel for this ... the reason why will become apparent.
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  • #2
    Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

    theme:

    finding emotional connections with strangers.





    it was overrated and ill tell you why after this exercise.

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    • #3
      Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

      I'm one of the people who doesn't think LiT was about much of anything. I enjoyed the depiction of Tokyo, and there are certain scenes or bits of scenes that I still remember very clearly although I've only seen the film once, but for me it was more about mood than any real story.

      I guess the theme, if anything, was alienation.
      "Your intuition knows what to write, so get out of the way.-
      ― Ray Bradbury

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      • #4
        Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

        Funny, I just rented it this week. I've seen it a couple of times before anyway, and I am definitely of the "enjoyed it" camp.

        But that's not what you asked...

        Alienation, separation, expectations and disappointment. That's what I would say are the main themes in this film, which, I think, were eloquently demonstrated. (This is obviously not a logline - I suck so majorly at writing my own, let alone anyone else's, plus I'm supposed to be critiquing Jack Stillinger's Multiple Authorship right now... But I digress.)

        And love. What it is, what it looks like, and how it does or doesn't work.

        I lived in Japan for a couple of years, so while I enjoyed the observations Coppola made about that culture because I could recognise them, they weren't especially insightful or original in tone or content. Actually, they were a little insulting, truth be known.

        But not enough that I couldn't thoroughly engage in and believe the attraction that developed between Scarlett and Bill (forgotten protags' names), or enjoy the humour, simplistic though it was.

        There. How's that?
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        • #5
          Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

          I, of course, loved Lost in Translation.

          When most of you get to be Bill Murray's age, perhaps you will get it, as well. Meanwhile, you're still shedding tears over Finding Neverland. You immortals, you.

          This is not a put down; only an observation. Likely, it is one some are uncomfortable with.

          Now that I've been on both sides (I was her at one time in my life, soothing the pain in older men's lives; now I am the older one who sees my own mortality before me and the knowledge of my invisilibility to others), I know what has disappeared along the way. I see and experience it daily as I try to speak to you younger people, and most of it is LOST in translation.


          What is the film about? Isolation and what Thoreau called quiet desperation.
          Last edited by andlary1; 05-07-2006, 09:08 PM.
          Writers write to be read, right?

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          • #6
            Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

            The more I've watched it, the more I like it. I'll give it a try here (cringe) and say that it was about finding some meaning and purpose in life. And there you have two people, a generation apart, but able to relate to each other, yet unable to relate to their spouses at this point in their lives.

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            • #7
              Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

              It's kind of like when there's a shipwreck or something and the only two survivors are sitting in a rubber raft in the middle of the ocean, and one says, "Sharks ate my wife," and the other says "No kidding, sharks ate my husband," and even though they don't have anything else in common, they huddle together to keep warm and are grateful to have each other, until the rescue helicopter shows up. Only there's no plane wreck and no sharks, nobody gets eaten alive, and instead of being in the middle of the ocean and lashed by the howling winds and stining rains, they're in Tokyo and they can't sleep.

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              • #8
                Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                It's about two bored strangers having fun together. That's my guess. It does seem to drag on with scenes that don't warrant their length or necessity, and it feel longer than it actually is.

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                • #9
                  Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                  I'd say alienation and friendship as the themes as well. It's about being lost in a place where no one really understands your language or what you're trying to say. It goes for the main characters in both ways, the people in Japan don't understand them due to the language barrier, but neither do their significant others - Johanssons husband was always away with his work, Murrays wife can't even keep a civil phone conversation - so when the protagonists meet each other and find someone who can understand them, in all possible ways, there is a deep friendship to be found.

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                  • #10
                    Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                    I can't believe you're trying to justify this film because it was so thoroughly pounded in that other thread.

                    To answer your question, I can honestly say that I have no ******* clue what it was about. An older guy visiting Japan on business is upset with his life for no good reason. He meets a hot young lady and thinks about giving her the business. They go on an adventure in Japan that, quite frankly, you could have here in North America any day of the week and then decide not to have sexual relations.

                    Oscar material, baby!

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                    • #11
                      Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                      I've never seen this film.
                      I think that cinema night was a toss-up between LiT and
                      "From Justin to Kelly." And who could resist those curls?


                      I've seen the trailers though and thought it would be about an american actor
                      experiencing a culture clash in Japan. I remember at that time there was quite a bit of media exposure of american celebrities making loads of money in Japan endorsing products so I thought it had something to do with that.

                      I've read about it and the consensus seems to be it is an intimate movie where the viewer becomes a third party in the relationship onscreen.
                      You mentioned the subtletes in the other thread in this film but I know
                      many moviegoers don't like subtletes. They want to live in a world where it never snows on the equator.
                      myhomeconvalesceblog

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                      • #12
                        Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                        boski. You're welcome to stick around, but you have to participate. No freeloaders!

                        After reading the other posts in this thread, can you pick one or two words that describe the film's theme?

                        I realize I'm being painfully didactic in this thread, but it'll all make sense once I tie it together.
                        http://confoundedfilms.com

                        http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

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                        • #13
                          Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                          Originally posted by N-A
                          I can't believe you're trying to justify this film because it was so thoroughly pounded in that other thread.
                          I can't believe you have a problem with critical analysis of a commerically and critically successful film that happens to polarize audiences.
                          http://confoundedfilms.com

                          http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

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                          • #14
                            Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                            I really like this film. What I think is interesteing about it is that it's thematically driven rather than story driven. You could almost say that it's an experimental film in a way. Of course we all know this is in large part due to the amount of the script that was completed when they started shooting.

                            As for what it's about...friendship between two people of the opposite sex that has nothing to do with sex.
                            Passion Fuels Passion

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                            • #15
                              Re: Lost in Translation - what is it ABOUT?

                              Love it or hate, I think the general perception is that the film worked. It cost $4 million to make and earned $44 million in its US release. It was well received by critics and won some hefty awards. So, if you think this film didn't work, then obviously you just didn't get it. Nothing to be ashamed of. As for myself, I hated Titanic, but certainly enough people saw it, loved it, and honored it with awards to prove me wrong.

                              That said, I agree with others citing the main characters' isolation as the film's main theme, which is poetic given Bob and Charlotte are in Tokyo, one of the most populous cities in the world. I like what someone else said, too, calling out the title as a reference to the inability for people in different generations to communicate.

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