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.
"...What's astonishing about Sofia Coppola's
enthralling new movie is the precision, maturity and
originality with which the confident young writer-director
communicates so clearly in a cinematic language all her
own..."
"...One of the purest and simplest examples ever of
a director falling in love with her star's gifts. And never
has a director found a figure more deserving of her
admiration than Bill Murray..."
"...The joys of Sofia Coppola's LOST IN TRANSLATION
come from watching Murray modify his trademark
passive-aggressive style into played-straight comic
bewilderment....This is a career worth watching and a movie
worth watching, too..."
"...The film itself -- tart and sweet, unmistakably
funny and exceptionally well observed -- marks the arrival
of 32-year-old writer-director Sofia Coppola as a mature
talent with a distinctive sensibility and the means to
express it..."
"...Sweet and sad at the same time it is sardonic
and funny....Bill Murray has never been better..."
"...Altogether remarkable....LOST IN TRANSLATION is
found gold..."
Theatrical Release: SEPTEMBER 12, 2003 (NY/LA) SEPTEMBER
19, 2003 (EXPANDS)
"It's packed with incident....It's all in Murray's
face....It's a magnificent performance that doesn't seem
like acting at all..."
