Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation (2003)

Genres - Comedy, Romance, Drama  |   Sub-Genres - Psychological Drama, Comedy of Manners  |   Release Date - Aug 29, 2003 (USA - Unknown), Sep 12, 2003 (USA - Limited), Sep 18, 2003 (USA)  |   Run Time - 102 min.  |   Countries - Japan, United States  |   MPAA Rating - R
  • AllMovie Rating
    9
  • User Ratings (0)
  • Your Rating

Share on

Synopsis by Mark Deming

After making a striking directorial debut with her screen adaptation of The Virgin Suicides, Sofia Coppola offers a story of love and friendship blooming under unlikely circumstances in this comedy drama. Bob Harris (Bill Murray) is a well-known American actor whose career has gone into a tailspin; needing work, he takes a very large fee to appear in a commercial for Japanese whiskey to be shot in Tokyo. Feeling no small degree of culture shock in Japan, Bob spends most of his non-working hours at his hotel, where he meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) at the bar. Twentysomething Charlotte is married to John (Giovanni Ribisi), a successful photographer who is in Tokyo on an assignment, leaving her to while away her time while he works. Beyond their shared bemusement and confusion with the sights and sounds of contemporary Tokyo, Bob and Charlotte share a similar dissatisfaction with their lives; the spark has gone out of Bob's marriage, and he's become disillusioned with his career. Meanwhile, Charlotte is puzzled with how much John has changed in their two years of marriage, while she's been unable to launch a creative career of her own. Bob and Charlotte become fast friends, and as they explore Tokyo, they begin to wonder if their sudden friendship might be growing into something more.

Characteristics

Keywords

actor, advertising, commercials, Japan, photographer

Attributes

High Artistic Quality