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Lost in Translation
(Reviewed July 24, 2003)
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It's odd. There are quite a few things wrong with this extremely low-key character study about a rock-star photographer's neglected young wife (Scarlett Johansson, from the excellent "Ghost World") and a
bored, past-his-prime movie actor (Bill Murray) who meet while both are staying at a Tokyo luxury hotel...but none of those flaws end up mattering. Murray at first seems miscast in a role that probably
should have gone to an actor with more graying-movie-star good looks, and his character bounds from world-weary cynic to karaoke party-boy a bit too easily, and a few of his scenes seem too comedic to
be in what basically is a quiet, lost-souls-finding-each-other drama...but his performance is genuinely enjoyable. Scarlett Johansson is such a good actress that we honestly believe she would enjoy hanging
out with a guy old enough to be her dad (if not her granddad). A couple of scenes are genuine cliches (one of them involving Murray waking up with someone he does not at first recall going to bed with),
but they are far outweighed by the ones that seem realistic and true. And while some of the "look how wacky the Japanese are" segments are borderline offensive, they seem in keeping with the perceptions
of two Americans who are strangers in a strange land.
The pace is leisurely, there is remarkably little dialog, nothing blows up, nobody gets shot...hard to believe this is an American film, huh? "Lost in Translation" was written and directed by Sofia
Coppola, making it one of the best advertisements for nepotism you'll ever see.
I really liked this one a lot, and not just because Scarlett Johansson spends so many scenes in pink panties. Really.
POSTSCRIPT (added September 12, 2003): I've just seen this movie a second time, and actually enjoyed it even more than the first time around. I even upgraded it from a B+ to a solid A rating.
No kidding, this really may turn out to be the best movie of the year. Go!
Back Row Grade: A
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