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| Bill Murray plays a fading Hollywood veteran brewing up a midlife
crisis in this highly acclaimed Sofia Coppola 'fish-out-of-water' comedy.
Though getting paid $2 million to promote whiskey in Japan would be a dream
come true for most, for the melancholy Bob Harris (Murray) it's a lonesome
and tedious assignment in a land he neither understands nor wants to.
Everything changes, however, when he meets bored photographer's wife Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) in the hotel bar, and the pair pit their wits against the Tokyo nightlife as a cure for insomnia. An uncomfortable romantic tension builds as their friendship develops, with both Bob and Charlotte philosophically pondering their own choice of spouse and the meaning of life. Though the film loses some pace around the middle - with the inevitable but drawn-out Karaoke scene the main culprit - this is a stylish and warm-hearted offering, giving Murray the opportunity to add depth to his oft-practised role as a lovable cynic. Much of the comedy is found in the confusion arising from Japanese language and cultural differences, with Murray relying on facial gestures and other subtleties more than the acidic sarcasm he has built his career on. Rising star Johansson adds buckets of charm with her down-to-earth youthful manner, though it's hard to sympathise with her incessant moping and sobbing early on in the film. Why she would be attracted to a crinkly fifty-something who dresses like your dad is never fully explained, but needless to say we're supposed to believe it's due to a meeting of minds rather than an admiration for his bulging wad of yen. There are some enchanting scenes of Buddhist temples and traditional Geisha girls thrown into the mix, and the ample shots of central Tokyo will be enough to pretend to your friends that you've been there. Lost In Translation is a mild-mannered comedy, an affectionate romance
and a week in Japan, all squeezed into 102 minutes. William Summers, 19.01.04 |
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