Rating: 
Summary: best of the year
Review: This is my favorite movie of 2003. For one thing, I like how it promotes Bill Murray as an actor, because he's so important to some of my favorite films like Groundhog Day and Wes Anderson's movies. However, I also think this is a great accomplishment for Sofia Coppola who seems to be establishing a directing style of her own with this movie. Like The Virgin Suicides, LiT is quiet, spacy, and subtlely beautiful. As a whole, the film is beautifully shot and acted, and captures the chaotic order of Tokyo perfectly. This is a story that is not based upon an intricate plot, action, or even dialogue. It's more of an atmospheric film which focuses on inner conflicts and the way those conflicts bring two people together. 9/10
Rating: 
Summary: Tokyo ambiance
Review: I gave this movie 3 stars so you can read my review even though it deserves 5. Isn't it amazing how many times we seek out the negative reviews on amazon even when they are few and far between the many raving reviews? The truth about this movie is that it is non-mainstream movie that entered into the mainstream, and some people are quick to call it overrated. Sofia Coppola did an amazing job creating the mood and athmosphere in Lost in Translation. I was so impressed with her sincere demeanor at the Golden Globes, she is truly a breath of fresh air. And to be the first ever(!) American woman director nominated for an Oscar in directing is great for her but so pathetic considering that today is Febuary 4, 2004, not Febuary 4, 1950. The bottom line is, I loved the movie and highly recommend it : ) Have a great day.
Rating:
Summary: Lost
Review: What happens when a married, fading, American movie star named Bob Harris (Bill Murray) goes to Tokyo to film whiskey commercials and meets a married soul-searching, jobless, Yale philosophy graduate named Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson)? "Lost in Translation" plays out this scenario by building on subtle tensions. An early sequence of scenes builds up several relationship slaps between Charlotte and her husband of two years. For example, he forgets to introduce her to a bouncy blonde old friend he runs into in the hotel lobby. With her husband constantly away on a rock-band photo shoot, Charlotte is established as unhappily married and lonely in Tokyo. Bob Harris is established as lonely in Tokyo as he goes through the semi-humiliation of being a famous American in Japan. He finds himself in comic situations best illustrated by the scene where a complimentary prostitute comes to his room and wants him to "lip"-or was it "rip"-her stockings. When Harris gets a note that he forgot his son's birthday, his sleepless nights and dedication to his seat at the hotel bar are colored by problems in a 25 year marriage. When Bob and Charlotte meet, the movie takes on the feel of a summer vacation romance between the unhappily married. As the young Charlotte asks Bob questions about life and displays quiet, girlish admiration for Bob's witty comments, a new dimension of tension develops as we wonder if this is the development of romantic love or father/daughter love. This is a slow, moody movie that can only keep the viewer interested through subtle tensions set against a back-drop that shows interesting, comic, beautiful, and weird perspectives on Tokyo culture.
Rating:
Summary: Coppola's triumph
Review: Some films overwhelm the senses with audio and visual effects in an overzealous attempt to capture the audience's attention. Lost in Translation will not challenge your surround sound system, or dazzle you with colors. It is simple in plot and direction. And it is in its simplicity where writer/director Sofia Coppola creates brilliance. The story, put simply, is about the feeling of being lost in a crowd. A middle aged American movie star in Tokyo to promote a Japanese whiskey (played by Bill Murray) meets a stunning twentysomething woman (Scarlett Johansson)who's in town to accompany her workaholic husband (Giovanni Ribisi) on a photo assignment. They both are insomniacs who are unhappy with their marriages and unsure of their purposes in life. Night after night they find solace in one another's company not for sex, but for companionship. There is a sexual tension between the two, of course, but it's repression adds to the characters' bond. The subtext to the story surrounding Scarlett Johansson's character, Charlotte, is particularly intriguing because Coppola has hinted that it is autobiogaphical. Immediately you will notice that Charlotte looks/acts/speaks like Sofia Coppola. Her young photographer husband, Johnny, looks/acts/speaks like Spike Jonze- Coppola's real life X-husband. So upon realizing that these characters are based in fact, the appearance of a Cameron Diaz look-alike (I mean, it's scary how similar this actress is in voice and mannerisms to Diaz) as an actress to whom- it is hinted- Johnny had an affair with, makes for a very naked declaration on Coppola's part...
note: for those of you who may not know, Spike Jonze directed Cameron Diaz in his debut film Being John Malkovich. It is rumored that an affair between the two resulted in Jonze and Coppola's breakup... Not to be forgotten is the acting in this film. Scarlet Johansson is on her way to becoming a major star, and her performance is Oscar worthy. Bill Murray has been an underrated actor for the entire span of his career and this film may be the role that finally gets him the credit that's long overdue.
Rating:
Summary: From another vantage
Review: If writer/director Sofia Coppola had in mind to arrest a moment in the lives of two disparate people trapped in the ennui of isolation in a city whose language and life style is in every sense foreign, then LOST IN TRANSLATION is a success. After all the hype from the Golden Globes awards, the media, the endless ads, this small film promised to be revelatory. But at least for this viewer it seems a one-note song that wears thin after about 30 minutes. One aspect that may be considered comedic in nature is the seeming put-down of the Japanese people encountered by our couple (Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray. To these eyes and ears this mimicking of English pronunciation and the concept that nearly all Japanese people are ignorant of English in the hotels and the media creates an insulting view. As for the performances Murray and Johansson make the best of what little they have to work with and FINALLY in the last 20 minutes we begin to care about them as people. Not a bad movie, just one that has been over-rated. Do yourself a favor when viewing this DVD: turn the volume down to escape the deafening music and the bad Karaoke!
Rating:
Summary: The Newest Masterpiece
Review: An exquisite tale of unresolved love and longing. Two lost souls crossing the path in a foreign city is the center of this tender and poignant film. But there is much more to discover. I love this film ... its flavor is very quaint and the Academy Awards is courageous for including this film as one of the Best Picture nominees - simply because ... hmm, you will just have to see it to know what I mean. Sofia Coppola is the first female American to be nominated for Best Director ... and I hope she will win - even just for one luxurious, perfectly directed scene in the near end. One of many impressive things about the film is that it allows everything to breathe. It takes its time. There's almost Zen-like quality about the film. Lost in Translation also opens a window to the Japanese culture.. in a very lovingly way...so lovingly that I couldn't help falling in love with the film even before it ended.
The DVD just came out. Pour yourself a cup of hot green tea or if you dare, whiskey and cuddle up with your friends and get ready for the beautiful journey.
Rating:
Summary: Poor Material but Magic Murray
Review: In any other year, this movie would be a forgettable throwaway. It is a cheap "star-vehicle" for Scarlett Johanssen with a cookie-cutter script and a little-known woman director, strictly bottom-rung fodder in the Hollywood system. What then explains its strange popularity among the reviewers? It could be an utter lack of competition in the other offerings this year. But beyond that, the movie has a unique, unpredictable chemistry that strikes viewers as more sincere, simple and authentic than many big-budget crowd pleasers. Most significant is the rare maturity of Bill Murray's character for a modern movie, and his trademark understated performance. His character refuses to bed the vulnerable and lonely Johanssen, though he proves he is not above this with someone he respects much less. His advice on marriage is so viscerally realistic, it is almost cinema verite. Understated acting is not the word - one feels the real Mr. Murray is speaking from the depth of his life's experience rather than an actor from a script. In the end, this is not acting so much as Bill Murray's own very contradictory character - a performer who refuses to pretend. In all his movies, he seems to barely have the energy for the act, and rather clowns around with a barely concealed contempt for what he is doing. Sometimes this is disappointing and hard to watch, but in a vehicle which is not desperately trying to aim high, it can achieve unexpected wonders. The scene in the restaurant is another high moment. After being caught with another woman, Murray's character doesn't hide his eyes in shame, nor attack Johanssen cruelly. He looks right into her eyes, leaning back against the wall with a seemingly irreproachable depth of experience and exhaustion behind him and makes no excuses or apologies. Again, in this otherwise insignificant and inconsequential vehicle, this utter lack of pretension is gripping. The movie I can most compare this to is "My Cousin Vinnie", another throwaway star-vehicle for Marisa Tomei with Joe Pesci as the established older actor lending her his reputation and economic drawing-power. But again, that movie was a surprise popular hit. The storyline was so poor that the actors could only rise above it by assuming an air of derision, and it was precisely this which ironically gave the movie its feeling of chemistry, groundedness and authenticity. Many Hollywood vehicles try desperately to imitate a successful formula for authenticity. Real art is that work which does not imitate, but achieves the real thing. Therefore, we must also perhaps credit the casting and Sophia Coppola's direction with understated grace, perception of the chemistry of her actors, and that all-too-rare Hollywood sixth-sense for the authentic. But ultimately, I have to agree with the other reviewers - a popular hit, maybe, but otherwise pretty overrated.
Rating: 
Summary: One of those "you're stupid if you don't 'get it'" movies!!
Review: I am a fan of indie films, so I'm not just biased against the genre. I really do think this film is boring and stupid! The concept is wonderful, the acting is as it should be, the chemistry is there, the setting is atmospheric - and director Sofia Coppola, like some kind of indie George Lucas, takes great material and just pulverizes it!!! I don't care whose daughter she is, she is just proving that the only thing worse than her acting is her directing! I guess film talent ISN'T hereditary! OK, now that I've gotten the ugliness out of me, I'll try to stay objective. I really wanted to like this movie - I like the actors, and the idea of a platonic love developing between two displaced Americans was a wonderful concept to me! I just wish the film had spent more time developing that instead of the lingering shots of Scarlett sitting at the window, or Bill sitting at the bar just looking bored. I wish there were less lingering shots of Scarlett walking down this street and then that street and then sitting on a bus, then at a cafe, then in the bath-tub! Any half-competent director can establish in about three or four shots that these characters are lonely and depressed! What I wanted more of was actual connecting dialogue, some hint of character development. Instead, once the two FINALLY meet after about thirty minutes, you get a quip from Bill, a laugh from Scarlett, then a "see ya round," Shampoo, rinse, repeat for about 70 minutes . . . annnnd scene! So what happens in the end? Are they in love? Are they going to see each other again? Has anything about them changed? No, all we have is a movie that succeeds in only ONE thing - making the viewer feel as bored as the characters. I for one am sick and tired of independent films like this one getting praised up and down when there are so many good ones out there that are much more worth a watch! Want a good indie night? Go rent THE DAYTRIPPERS, CLOCKWATCHERS, and MEMENTO for starters! And, for a MUCH, MUCH better look at the amazing Scarlett Johanson, check out GHOST WORLD, THE MAN WHO WASN'T THERE, and GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING - GHOST WORLD even has some nice jabs at just this type of overblown, art-house filmmaking! Give this one a pass - don't let the critics make you feel less cultured and stupid just because you expect a plot and a story progression for your money! Best Picture?!? God forbid! One last thing - the marketers, realizing how boring this movie is as a drama, thought it would be more effective to sell it to the unsuspecting public as a comedy! WRONG AGAIN! There is nothing funny in this movie beyond some wry and ironic moments that, frankly, thrive only on racial ignorance of Japanese culture and their inabilities to pronounce "L's and R's" properly - yep, the humor is THAT sophisticated!! I thought we were a living in a more culturally advanced society - but if I were Japanese, I would have been offended at the portrayal.
Rating: 
Summary: a view from a japanese audience
Review: I am a japanese who has spent a great deal of time in both japanese and american cultures so when I heard of this film I couldn't wait for the movie to come out in Tokyo (sometime in 2004),and therefore bought the dvd. The film started out great but the excitement gradually faded and became a bit boring. To me there were too many scenes in the hotel that built up on the lonliness that just became too depressing. To the foreign eye, all of the scenes of Japan must've looked mysterious and beautiful. I think the cinematography was great and there were many beautiful scenes, but it seemed so fragmented. It's like okay here we have a scene in a buddist temple, next we have a scene of a wedding couple in kimonos in Kyoto, next... being japanese these scenes to me were like post card images and didn't really contribute to the plot of the movie. I'd imagine they had to do alot of guerilla filming around Tokyo because it's not easy getting permits to shoot large productions in public areas here. I appreciated the kind of relationship Bob and Charlotte had where they couldn't (or he couldn't) cross the line to become more than great friends, however I think the developement of the intimacy between the two suffered because alot of the time was devoted to trying to show the japanese culture. Don't get me wrong, this film probably had the most accurate coverage of what life in this city looks like (except for the lap dancing joint which looked alot more like someone's imagination). Great film in terms of cinematography, music, tension, and bringing out the exotic feel of Japan, but I think it may be a bit overrated as for being nominated for best Oscar picture.
Rating:
Summary: actors look out windows and America genuflects...
Review: this straining display of limp pathos should appeal to fans of James Fey's, "A Million, Tiny, Overwraught, Ill-Contrived, Rich-Boy Pieces of Dung," which recently topped out at #1 on the Amazon editors picks for best of 2003. No wonder we're in Iraq- my country is populated by easily led fools: "Oohhhh! those long shots of faces looking out windows- they were just drenched with inner longing and tendentious malaise, indicative of the character's live, *sigh,* I can't wait for the sequel when he goes back and hugs her again." whatever... if you think this drivel is 'arty' or 'deep' because it is merely ambiguously insinuative... Do yourself a favor and stay away from Florence, Italy. You won't get it.
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