Lost in Translation

[swrushing]

I watched it yesterday.

It seemed to want to convey the sense of being lost, of bein bored and unsatisfied with one's choices.

It succeeds in that perhaps too well, as boired and unsatisfied accurately describes me watching the film.

I got that the characters were bored and unsatisfied with their lives in the first short piece. It really really really really did not need to be repeated again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again for me to get that they were really not happy with their situations. Honestly, i got it, early on.

Thats not artsy or introspective or pensive, its just repetitious or maybe redundant and usually thats a sign of bad writing.

For it all to wrap up the way it did with no real change fom where we started... merely emphasized that sense.

 

[Furtive Noise]

I really enjoyed this movie a lot, although you kind of had to enjoy it as a potrayal of a certain mood or feeling, not for any real movement in plot. That said, I think it was overhyped and thought it was a shame that a far superior movie that came out at the same time (American Splendor, I love this film, anyone else see it?) recieved less attention than it.

 

[KnowTheToe]

After watching it I can see why it did not do well in the theater and why no word of mouth campaign ever developed. It was not until all of the Oscar talk that anyone had interest in it.

 

[Mallus]

After watching it I can see why it did not do well in the theater and why no word of mouth campaign ever developed. It was not until all of the Oscar talk that anyone had interest in it.

Not exactly. After watching you could see why you didn't enjoy the film. Other people had different responses. So it goes...

The film got great word of mouth in my circle of friends, and played for ages at the Ritz theaters here in Philadelphia [home to other such blockbusters as My Architect and The Battle of Algiers].

The film was quirky mood piece; lovely to some and deadly dull to others. That's all good. But don't suggest that a film is somehow a failure if it isn't a large-scale commercial success on the level of Titanic or Lord of the Rings. Plenty of films get made with far more modest expectations in terms of audience numbers. And some of these do turn a profit.

 

[KnowTheToe]

The film was quirky mood piece; lovely to some and deadly dull to others. That's all good. But don't suggest that a film is somehow a failure if it isn't a large-scale commercial success on the level of Titanic or Lord of the Rings. Plenty of films get made with far more modest expectations in terms of audience numbers. And some of these do turn a profit.[/QUOTE]


This is exactly what I meant. A quirky mood piece is not a movie that a mass audience is usually going to rave about. It is something a reviewer will rave about. Therefore people as a whole were not creating a need to see it among their peers. I didn't ever say the movie was a failure, just not my cup of tea or a movie that really targeted or successfully targeted a mainstream audience.

 

[Shadowdancer]

I've never been to Japan, but I've been out of the U.S. on several occassions, primarily to Mexico. The movie perfectly captured the sense of isolation that foreigners experience in a foreign land, especially if there are elements that remind you of home.

People in those situations seek out and desperately cling to anyone else from their native country. That's what first brought Bill and Scarlett together. Then they found out they had a lot in common, and that made their bond stronger. They wanted to sexually consummate their relationship, but both knew that it was more important to just be friends than to be lovers.

That is what makes the movie, to me, more powerful than your usual, run-of-the-mill, art house mood piece. These two characters connected on a deep, soul-mate sort of level. Yet both knew they were in situations that they couldn't get out of, for whatever reason. They both wanted a lover, but needed a good friend more, someone to spend some time with and just talk, or not. That's why Scarlett's character is a little pissed when she finds out Bill slept with the jazz singer from the hotel lounge -- she wasn't mad he had slept with someone else, just mad that he had spent some time with someone else.

That was one of the refreshing elements of the movie. It didn't follow the standard movie cliche of these two strangers meeting in a strange land, falling in love and then chucking it all to be together. Forming a connection deeper than just sex was important, so important to them that they didn't want to spoil it with sex. And they don't chuck it all to be together; they go their seperate ways, to deal with their problems on their own.

 

[Shadowdancer]

Here's a story that ran on the Associated Press wire that I found very humorous and very entertaining. If you've seen the movie, you might enjoy it as well.


Say what? "Lost in Translation" whiskey scene goes down smooth with words straight up


By JOJI SAKURAI

Associated Press Writer



In one of the funniest scenes in "Lost in Translation," aging actor Bob Harris, played by Bill Murray, is on a Tokyo film set waiting to shoot a whiskey commercial.



He’s trussed up in a tuxedo, uneasily sunk into a leather armchair, studio lights lovingly casting shadows on his face.



A director with a rocker’s dyed hair, tinted glasses and trendy jacket barks flamboyantly at Bob in Japanese. The interpreter merely throws a few scraps of English the actor’s way. It’s clear something is being, well, lost in translation.



Here’s the scene in English:

———

Director: Mr. Bob-san, you are relaxing in your study. On the table is a bottle of Suntory whiskey. Got it? Look slowly, with feeling, at the camera, and say it gently — say it as if you were speaking to an old friend. Just like Bogie in Casablanca, Here’s looking at you, kid — Suntory time.



Translator: Umm. He want you to turn, looking at camera. OK?



Harris: That’s all he said?



Translator: Yes. Turn to camera.



Harris: All right. Does he want me to turn from the right, or turn from the left?



Translator: (To director) Uh, umm. He’s ready now. He just wants to know if he’s supposed to turn from the left or turn from the right when the camera rolls. What should I tell him?



Director: What difference does it make! Makes no difference! Don’t have time for that! Got it, Bob-san? Just psych yourself up, and quick! Look straight at the camera. At the camera. And slowly . . . with passion. Straight at the camera. And in your eyes there’s . . . passion. Got it?



Translator: (To Harris) Right side. And with intensity. OK?



Harris: Is that everything? It seemed like he said quite a bit more than that.



Director: (To Bob, gesticulating wildly) Listen, listen. This isn’t just about whiskey. Understand? Imagine you’re talking to an old friend. Gently. The emotions bubble up from the bottom of your heart. And don’t forget, psych yourself up!



Translator: Like an old friend. And, into the camera.



Harris: OK.



Director: Got it? (Bob nods) You LOVE whiskey. It’s SUNTORY time. OK?



Harris: OK.



Director: OK?



(Bob nods)



Director: (To crew) OK! We’re rolling! Ready! Action!



Harris: (Turning to the camera) For relaxing times . . . make it Suntory time.



Director: CUT! Cut, Cut, Cut, Cut!! (Rushes up to Bob) You don’t seem to understand, do you? (Grabs the bottle) This is Suntory’s Hibiki. Suntory’s most expensive brand. Put more luxurious feeling into it. It’s not your everyday whiskey.



Translator: Could you do it slower and . . .



Director: Give it everything you’ve got!



Translator: More intensity.



Director: (To Bob) Suntory time . . . (To crew) We’re rolling! Ready! Action!



Harris: For relaxing times . . . Make it Suntory time.



Director: CUT! Cut, Cut, Cut! I’m begging you, begging you . . .



(Bob’s Suntory smile fades into annoyance)

 

[Dimwhit]

That was a great scene. Thanks for posting the translation!

 

[Dragonblade]

I was laughing my ass off at this scene in the theater along with my wife because we both speak Japanese. Nobody else was. I think the scene was lost on a lot of the audience.

Though, I know why they didn't put subtitles in. You were supposed to identify with Harris as the confused foreigner.

But if you watch the movie and you speak Japanese, I think it adds a whole other layer of depth to the film.

 

[tburdett]

Eh. If I wanna watch real life, I can do that for free by looking out the window. When I rent a movie, I expect something more.

Exactly.