Review of Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppola

As a Sofia Coppola fangirl, I’m ashamed to admit that up until now, I’ve seen every single one of her movies except Lost in Translation. I’ve even seen The Beguiled multiple times, which makes me even more surprised that I had never sought out this movie despite knowing about its existence and the fact that it pretty much elevated her career to all-new levels.

Call me a bad fangirl—I deserve it. Regardless, I finally ended up watching this a week before I was supposed to go back to graduate school, which means I ended up sitting down in front of the television instead of doing my work.

And that was how I ended up watching Lost in Translation. I have many thoughts about this movie, as my feelings are pretty complicated, if we’re going to be honest. It seems a bit outdated, too, considering the climate we now live in twenty years later.

I still love Coppola’s work though; I think, despite the fact she is a nepo-baby, that her existence in the film world is a step forward for women. Sure, her films are very white and that is also a major problem, but she came onto the scene when very few women received acknowledgement or resources for their work.

Here’s my review of Lost in Translation.

Two lonely souls find solace in each other on the streets of Tokyo.

The core protagonist of Lost in Translation, is Bob, a struggling actor from the United States who’s past his prime. He has come to Tokyo because he has been recruited to advertise a local brand of whiskey, and is staying at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo.

As we clearly come to see in the minutes to come, he is deeply and utterly miserable, and he doesn’t really care for learning about the country he is residing in for the next few weeks.

He’s also struggling at home with a midlife crisis and his marriage, but, as it turns out, he’s not the only one struggling with the circumstances of his life.

A young woman named Charlotte, who is also an American and staying at the same hotel, has come to Tokyo with her husband.

He’s a photographer who mainly works with celebrities, and despite her education at Yale and a degree in philosophy, she has begun to question her life decisions as her husband goes out each night. She, too, is struggling with adapting to Japanese culture and wanders the streets, but one of the more striking place she has sought out is a temple.

When Charlotte ends up meeting an actress in the hotel, she wanders away from her husband and ends up having conversations with Bob at the hotel bar.

Eventually, Charlotte does end up inviting him to go out with her and some friends on the town, and they create their little haven and bubble outside of the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. Whether karaoke or exploring the nightlife all around them, it all culminates in one deep conversation between the two about their futures.

But things go awry when Charlotte discovers Bob sleeps with the jazz singer in the hotel bar, who the camera has lingered over before previously. This actually is his last day, as he fulfilled the duties of his contract.

In one strange scene, he’s invited to a Japanese show where he thinks the host is behaving weirdly and doesn’t mask his confusion, which I really thought Bob needed intercultural training here and better PR.

That was my vibe about him the entire movie, as he doesn’t even try to enjoy Tokyo or learn about the people around him.

So Bob and Charlotte are fighting of sorts, but because it’s his last day, this is going to be it. He and Charlotte have one last goodbye outside of the hotel that’s kind of sour, but when he spots Charlotte on the taxi ride to the airport, he gets out of the car, he says something to her, they kiss, and then he leaves. And that’s the movie.

Overall Thoughts

I have such complicated about these feelings because yes, it’s a decent movie. There’s a lot to dwell on afterwards and it’s well shot considering the limitations Coppola was working on. But on the other hand, it’s so American in a way that I’m not happy about.

Sure, I don’t have to agree with the main character and his motivations, nor the fact that their relationship makes me uncomfortable sometimes. That doesn’t mean it’s a bad movie because I disagree with the characters.

What puts me in conflict is how it might perpetuate stereotypes about Japan because it’s touristy and eye-roll at some points. I once read this brilliant essay a while back by Moeko Fuji, and that shaped a bit of my perspective here.

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