Personally, I had simply read/heard way too much hyperbole about this movie before my screening, so I couldn't help but feel a little let down afterwards.
Lost in Translation (2003)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:214
Fresh:203
Rotten:11
Average Rating:8.4/10
Consensus: Murray gives one of his best performances in this expertly crafted mood piece.
Theatrical Release:09-01-2004
Synopsis: Sofia Coppola's second feature-length film focuses on two guests at a Tokyo hotel--Bob (Bill Murray), a middle-aged actor in town to film whiskey commercials, and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson),... Sofia Coppola's second feature-length film focuses on two guests at a Tokyo hotel--Bob (Bill Murray), a middle-aged actor in town to film whiskey commercials, and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), the young wife of a trendy photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) who is always out on a shoot. When Bob isn't on the job taking fragmented direction from the Japanese crew, he's receiving faxes on home decorating from his emotionally distant wife. And while her husband is away, Charlotte spends most of her time trying to motivate herself to do more than look out the window at Tokyo's urban sprawl. So when the two meet in the hotel bar, they strike up an unusual friendship, one that provides a welcome escape from their boredom and loneliness. With LOST IN TRANSLATION, Coppola cements her reputation as a thoughtful and inventive filmmaker. Every element of the movie is pitch-perfect, from the dreamy, atmospheric score to the expertly timed editing to the lingering shots of the characters and the city. Most importantly, Coppola's minimalist script allows Murray and Johansson to give astonishingly moving yet subtle performances as people who are lost in the limbo of a foreign country, but find each other for comfort and companionship. Both heartbreakingly sad and hilariously funny, Coppola's LOST IN TRANSLATION is that rare movie in which everything is in its right place. [More]
Starring: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris
Starring: Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris, Fumihiro Hayashi, Yutaka Tadokoro
Director: Sofia Coppola
Director: Sofia Coppola
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Producer: Sofia Coppola, Ross Katz
Studio: Focus Features
Reviews for Lost in Translation
How to sing the praises of Lost in Translation without drowning out its subtle pleasures?
Think of Lost in Translation as a beautifully told short story. It doesn't have the resonance or heft of a good novel, but it's slyly seductive and intensely moody.
This film would've worked really well as a short film, it's not terribly satisfying as a full length feature.
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson make the first classic romance of the new century glow with gorgeous, luminous grace.
The weight of Sofia Coppola's circuitous script is carried on the shoulders of the career-defining performances given by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.
Imbued with a blissful nostalgia for things that can never be recaptured, Lost in Translation is already poised to be one of the best movies of the year.
Lost in Translation's artful blend of romance and cross-cultural comedy is just the tonic for audiences weary of big, dumb, loud summer blockbusters.
It's a wonderful film, all subtlety and grace, from the delicate script of writer-director Sofia Coppola to the finely tuned efforts of Bill Murray, who gives a still, laconic yet mesmerizing performance.
Lost in Translation is a fortunate encounter between a young talent on the rise and an old pro still hitting his stride.
By the end of Lost in Translation, we don't know much about Japan, but we know a lot more about the human condition.
Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson give performances that will be talked about for years.
This picture moved me to tears three times. There's a world of hurt under them there laughs.
Subtly realized and finely nuanced, this is fresh and unspoiled filmmaking.
When work this potentially satisfying remains flatly obvious, it's almost worse than being flat-out bad.
Although a small character piece, everything about Lost in Translation is world-class.
Coppola, who wrote and directed, creates the perfect languorous mood to match these characters' emotional limbo.
Sofia Coppola's stealthy romance about two Americans stranded in Tokyo is a work of marvelous delicacy -- and offers the performance of Bill Murray's career.
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