The movie “Lost in Translation” directed by Sofia Coppola, tells a story about a movie star who spends several nights in Tokyo promoting whiskey. Bob is lost, misunderstood and searching for a meaning to go on.
In the beginning of the movie Bob is shown in his hotel. He cannot sleep, looks exhausted and alone. The sadness on his face is very obvious and it is clear that his thoughts are asking the question of what he is doing here and where it leads. Feeling alone, all he can think of doing is sitting in the bar and sipping a drink. At one point two Americans are arguing if it is really him and once they found out it is him, they continue their conversation but without his participation, as if he is not even there. Bob reacts by getting up and leaving. The same grey and unhappy routine happens the next day and he tries to change things up by going to the pool. A sad and uneasy look on his face never leaves him, reflecting depressed and lost mood. When he goes to the shooting of the whiskey commercial, the filming crew is all around but they involuntarily remind how much out of place he is. At the shoot Bob is told what to do, what to say and how to turn to the camera, while the look in his eyes represents his bitterness towards the commercial and the director. Even though he is famous, surrounded by all the luxury, having anything he desires, Bob still does not have the inner peace and someone he can enjoy spending time with. The fact that everyone speaks a language he is not able to understand, alienates him even more. Looking out the window of his hotel, seeing the grand scenery, Bob is feeling very small and insignificant in the big and foreign city, where he has no friends or relatives. When his wife calls him with the choice of shelves or the color for drapes, he seems distant and uninterested in what he is doing. Thing change the night Bob meets Charlotte down at the bar. They have a somewhat distant and uneasy conversation and each person is immersed in their own hardships and feeling alone. But later they meet again and are able to find common a problem—they are both lost in what to do next in life. After going out and having a few drinks and some fun, the next morning the loneliness comes back. When they meet again and go out to have some food, it is clear that they are enjoying time together but the hotel is the place where they always separate and go back into their own shell of loneliness. The grand structure of the hotel represents the consuming pressure that life sometimes has on a person. The hard and concrete walls seem to block a person from the rest of the world, engulfing the souls in cold stone without any feelings and sympathy. Contrast created by Bob’s and Charlotte’s time together and their time apart, reinforces the view that they are able to forget the worries when they are together but once apart, each returns to their own world. Both characters have been able to develop a relationship in such a short period of time and this shows how lonely they really were. For a long time there was no one to spend time with in an easy going, relaxed and simply friendly manner. At night they go out drinking with Charlotte’s friends but even with other people there, stick together and it is accented in the looks they exchange. The two of them represent a part of their world, engulfed by the big world of Tokyo and a foreign way of life. The morning when Bob wakes up in his room and realizes that the singer from the bar has spent it with him, he feels ashamed, with his face reflecting the pain of the soul, trying to hide under the blanket. At this time Charlotte knocks on the door and sees that he is not alone, she feels betrayed and disappointed. Even though Bob and Charlotte did not make any promises to each other, Bob feels that he has done wrong and offended Charlotte. This constant change of moods, scenery, places and atmosphere reminds how it is impossible for him to focus on one thing in life. It seems that this will go on forever, feeling lost, trying different things and still not being able to find a way out. Throughout the movie Bob and Charlotte never hug, even though they feel the connection and closeness, sharing time together. Closer to the end they realize that time with each other is about to end and they are very saddened by this fact. At one point Charlotte jokingly offers Bob to stay but they know that it will not happen. Both are married but this does not help to get rid of the feeling of being alone and lost. It is as if the little time they have spent together is all the closeness they will have for the rest of their lives and this depresses even more. Bob and Charlotte understand that they cannot be together and it makes them feel painted into a corner. In the end they finally hug and kiss, Bob says something reassuring and they each go their separate ways to find their path in life (Lost in Translation).
References
Lost in Translation. Ex. Prod. Ross Katz. New York, United States: Universal Studios. 2003. Film.