Lost in Translation

By Simon Woodhouse

A little while ago I found myself sat in Hong Kong airport in the middle of the night. Just across from my seat was a cocktail bar, with a female singer crooning in front of a shiny grand piano. The whole scene reminded me of Lost In Translation - I was jetlagged, in a foreign country and longing to be somewhere, anywhere else. If only Translation had been playing on one of the numerous flat-screen TVs hanging from the ceiling, then my four-hour wait would have been a lot more bearable.

Sent to Tokyo to film a whisky commercial, fifty-something actor Bob Harris (Bill Murray), is finding it hard to understand the language, the culture and why the drinks company is paying him $2 million for three days work. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a young woman with a philosophy degree but no idea what she wants to do with her life, is staying in the same hotel as Bob. She's there with her photographer husband John (Giovanni Ribisi), but his assignment takes him out of the city for a couple of days and so she's left with time to kill.

If jetlag had a face, it would be Bob's as he's sitting in a taxi driving through the bright lights of downtown Tokyo. His bloodshot eyes, stubbly chin and washed-out complexion perfectly capture the essence of long haul travel. He's also got the wide-eyed stare of someone arriving disorientated in a new country, the kind of expression that says 'I know where I am, but none of this makes sense'.

Suffering from insomnia on his first night, Bob heads for the hotel bar and here he meets Charlotte. They exchange a few brief words, in what turns out to be the first of many such encounters that gradually become longer and more involved. But there's no hint of anything seedy in their relationship, as right from the outset they both confess their marital status (Bob's done twenty five years and Charlotte two). They're just two people thrown together by circumstance who discover how much they enjoy each other's company.

From then on there's an almost teenage innocence about the time they spend together, as they get chased out of night clubs, sing really bad karaoke and try to find their way around the local hospital. As I watched these exploits, I couldn't help but sense the relief each felt at having found a genuine smile in a city of detached politeness and ultra-modern bustle. Filmed entirely on location in Tokyo, and often with only a minimum amount of equipment and personnel, the movie gives you the feeling you're right in amongst the skyscrapers and the crowds.

The humour is gentle, and comes mostly from Bob, as he's plagued by a constant misunderstanding of Japanese English. Charlotte provides the poignant moments, either wandering around an empty Buddhist temple, or watching energised Japanese teens playing bizarre arcade games. Though they're an odd pair, Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson seem to have a real on-screen chemistry. He's all grizzled and jaded, whilst she's still bright-eyed and naive. At times their dialogue comes across as a bit too clever, especially in a film with such a down to earth atmosphere. But that's easy to forgive when the script lacks obvious jokes but still makes you laugh.

The scenes where Bob and Charlotte are alone together provide the film with its most touching moments. Fidelity holds them apart, whilst an obvious longing keeps trying to push them together. It's the sort of set up where in the ideal world they'd be together, but each realizes that's impossible, or only achievable if they cheat on their respective partners, and there's too much respect between them to allow that to happen.

Though there's very little in the way of a plot, it doesn't matter, because it's the two main characters and their relationship that carry the film. It's also a movie that's hard to categorize - it's funny but it's not a comedy. There's romance, but it's all conducted from a distance and kept at arms length. The relationship between Bob and Charlotte is a meeting of two very different worlds, a theme that's echoed by their experiences in Tokyo. If anything, it's a film about longing, wishing to be somewhere else in a relationship with someone else.

A great soundtrack provides excellent accompaniment to the different moods, with songs by Death in Vegas, My Bloody Valentine, Air and Jesus & Mary Chain. The cinematography also adds a layer of atmosphere, with long, slow shots, lingering close-ups and frantic scenes within the city. Add all this together, and Lost In Translation makes the ideal film to lose yourself in.