by Gus Sanchez

Created on: February 01, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

I'm always curious, when watching a film for the second time, if I'm going to enjoy the film in its' second viewing. While I thoroughly enjoyed Lost in Translation the first time around, it shook me deep into my soul the second time around. This film moved me like no other film for such a long time (trust me, I hate sounding like a cliche, but I'm dead-on sincere about this). This is one of those rare opportunities where you're not bombarded with cheap sentimentality, oh-so-clever one-liners written by recent graduates from film school, or over-the-top theatres (not to mention car chases and things blowing up); Lost is a quiet film that slowly unwraps the human drama of its' main protagonists, the film star Bob Harris (Bill Murray, in the performance of his career), and the young bride Charlotte (Scarlett Johannson, in what will be the first of many great performances to come), and the quietly desperate relationship they share during a few days alone together in Tokyo. Bob Harris is a film star who's suffering more than just a mid-life crisis; he's suffering a complete life crisis. He's an actor in the twilight of his film career, stuck in a loveless, unfulfilling marriage, and now he's forced to film a commercial and shoot promos for Suntory, a Japanese whisky (a clever put-down of famous Hollywood stars who sneak away to Japan to pimp Japanese products for cool millions). Bob's humiliation is embarrasingly evident, what with having to pose for the camera and don a tux for a whisky commercial, all the while struggling with the language and cultural barriers, makes his pained crisis all the more compelling. It's to Murray's credit as an actor that he plays Harris as a man trying to maintain some semblance of decency and self-respect, and not resort to pathetic histrionics during his stay in Tokyo. His nights are spent wasting away in a cold, lifeless luxury hotel, where, despite his every need catered to, reminds him more and more of the alienation that traps him - in one extremely funny scene, the language barrier proves a huge laugh as the suits from Suntory send him a call girl who is eager to please but her attempts to communicate with Bob, even seduce him, prove much too awkward for Bob to bear. Charlotte, a recent college grad and a guest of that very same hotel, realizes she's stuck in a meaningless marriage with her hot-shot photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi, in a supporting role) who exhibits more passion for his jet-setting work than for his wife.

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