Lost in Translation

Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this quietly excellent movie starring Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, and some other people who don't matter. The gist of the movie is that Bob Harris (Murray) and Charlotte (Johannsson) are alone in Tokyo with some time on their hands. They begin a caring, affectionate, sex-free relationship that can't go anywhere, and then it ends.

Coppola contrasts the weird, alien world of Japan with relatively ordinary Americans stuck there for various reasons. Charlotte's husband is there on a job; she tagged along because they're recently married but she can't be with him while he works. Bob is a has-been American actor who's still popular in Japan, so he's paying the bills doing commercials for a whisky. Coppola does an entertaining job using Bob to show the discrepancies between the mores and lives of Japanese and those of Americans. Bob meets Charlotte, and each has the opportunity to share their mutual alienation with someone alike. Coppola's script is very good, and Bob and Charlotte's relationship grows naturally, although we know it's doomed because of their age difference. (Actually, it was nice for a change not to have a gorgeous twenty-something falling in love with a fifty-something guy, which seems to be the fantasy of all the men in Hollywood.)

Johansson and Murray are wonderful in the film. The characters' relationship becomes relaxed as the two get to know each other and grow more comfortable with their affection, and the two actors wear the roles well. We follow them around as they explore Tokyo, have fun, sing, eat, and such - just a couple of tourists. The scenes of Tokyo, whether on the street or through their hotel windows add meaningfully to their lostness.

Nothing much happens during the movie. We see the characters meet, grow together, then part as their worlds take them in other directions. It's a life we've all lived and know. A very good adult film that lets us look in on the lives of other competent adults who handle things appropriately for their ages -- things including loss.