Lost in Translation, a 2003 film written and directed by Sofia Coppola, gives us an interesting story with brilliant performances from Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, beautiful shots of urban Japanese culture, and meaningful humor. The plot centers around Bob Harris (Bill Murray), an older actor who is past his prime, and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a recent college graduate with no direction in her life. Bob was successful as an actor, but has been reduced to doing commercials for a Japanese whisky company, which brings him to Japan in the beginning of the film. He has been divorced multiple times, and is having trouble with his wife and kids because he is on the road so often. Charlotte recently graduated from college with a degree in philosophy, but is lost and anxious because she has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She comes to Tokyo with her husband John (Giovanni Ribisi), who is a photographer shooting a band there. She seems disinterested in her husband’s work and annoyed by his friends. He pays too much attention to his work, and leaves Charlotte to deal with her problems by herself. Both Bob and Charlotte are lost, and feel that the commitments they have made have trapped them inside a life that they are unhappy with. This sets them up to find each other in a hotel in Tokyo, and to spend a week exploring and having adventures in a foreign city.

Bill Murray has an amazing performance in this film because of how much he is able to convey just in the way he holds himself and delivers his lines. Many of his scenes show Bob frustrated as he tries to work with directors and executives who speak little to no English. He holds himself in a sort of polite, yet impatient manner. Bob always looks like he is trying very hard to remain cordial, while in his head he wishes that he was still making movies. When he interacts with Charlotte, he pulls off a mellow, careless yet experienced attitude, which I think contributes to the overall theme of the film. Even though I enjoyed Scarlett Johansson’s performance as well, it seemed difficult at times to connect to her character. Charlotte’s husband describes her as “snobby”, and she comments that she wishes she wasn’t so abrasive and judgmental. Although Johansson plays this part well, these qualities were the reason I felt myself start to lose sympathy in her character. An example of this is when we are introduced to one of Charlotte’s husband’s friends, Kelly (Anna Ferris). John loves hanging out with Kelly, but Charlotte despises her due to her bubbly, overly-cute personality. Although I can understand that her negative attitude is due in part to her emotional issues, I found that this aspect of the film made Charlotte seem cynical. Regardless, I thought that Scarlet Johansson was wonderful in this film.

In terms of narration, this movie fluctuates between extremely entertaining scenes and long blocks of boring ones. I felt like there were some great scenes expressing one of the character’s experiences that were enjoyable at first, but were then repeated in a way that made it seem like the plot had stood still. For example, early on we see a few scenes of Bob working with Japanese executives and filmmakers, which show how he is frustrated in himself and that he is discontent with the direction of his life. It only takes a few of these scenes to get the message across to the audience, but there were multiple times where I felt the plot stand still due to scene after scene of the same ideas being shown in a different way.

I think the main theme of this movie is the idea of being unhappy in a life tied down with commitments, and trying to find an escape from it. This is clear through the main characters and their motivations. From Bob’s perspective, we see a middle-aged husband and wife both past their prime. Bob has gone from staring in movies to an unfulfilling life of making ads, while his wife has gone from a vibrant woman with a sense of humor to a sarcastic helicopter parent. They express the fear of growing old and slowly caring less about being happy and passionate in something simply because it is easier to fall in line. Charlotte shows this same idea, but from the point of view of a young woman. She has just graduated from college, and is anxious and stressed because she has no idea what she wants to do with her life. She is essentially afraid of having Bob’s life, while Bob shows that his life is not miserable so much as it is empty. The plot centers around both of their desires to escape their lives for a moment to find some clarity and direction.

Aesthetically, this movie is beautiful. We get so many beautiful shots of Urban Tokyo as well as Japanese culture (both glamorous and bizarre). We see a few scenes of Charlotte contemplating her future in breathtaking religious sites and Japanese gardens. We even get a scene of Bill Murray golfing at a course in the shadow of Mt. Fuji (which is not necessary to the plot at all but makes for a great shot). This entire movie gives off a strong indie film vibe.

Despite the usual rom-com clichés, I found this movie pretty funny in a sort of quirky, cute way. Bill Murray lands jokes in a very low-key, charming way in this film and I found the humor helped take me out of the existential drama at times, which I liked. Overall, this movie is interesting and beautiful. It is full of meaningful drama, but it still left me feeling happy and hopeful. Lost in Translation is thought provoking, pleasing to the eye, funny, and honest.