Lost In Translation: Finding Yourself

Clerks didn't really register as an independent movie to me immediately when I saw it because I knew that it had mainstream successors (and the only thing I knew about indie films at the time was that they existed and that their fans had a reputation for being pretentious). Lost In Translation on the other hand triggered some weird awakening in me. This was a different kind of movie, one that didn't rely on storytelling, but rather on characters and imagery (note: not all indie films lack plots, the way these three do; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Miss Sunshine, and Juno all have concrete stories).

The film is little more than a series of encounters between Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, two actors I highly admire, as they try to figure out their lives in Tokyo. Murray plays Bob, an aging actor. He became famous and rich for making movies, but now he is in Tokyo filming a Suntory Whisky (the Japanese spell whiskey without an "e") commercial. There are few things he'd rather be doing; he sees the job as beneath him and he doesn't fit in with Japanese culture (he also stands about 1.5 feet above everyone else, making him stick out and creating troubles in the shower due to a very low shower head). Johansson plays Charlotte, a new wife who is having an existential crisis; her husband is a photographer who never has time for her, and she defines herself relative to him. She came with him to Tokyo because he is shooting a new band, but the few times he is around, he is with other artistic types who confuse and put off Charlotte.

Bored and uncomfortable, the two have a chance encounter one night in the Park Hyatt Hotel Bar, and they start a friendship based on their shared ennui. They discuss their lives and try to help each other put things into perspective. Bob is long past the stage of his life where he is still figuring out who he is and what he wants to do. But Charlotte shows him that people are worth being around and that people have a spark in them that must be properly ignited. Bob's marriage is not failing, but it has become routine, and he and his wife are almost a business partnership than a romantic couple. Charlotte is kind of the same way with her husband, and when she comes to life with Bob, he sees that everyone just needs the right attention and stimulus.

When the two aren't together (and when Bob isn't working), they go to various places around Japan to try and take in whatever culture they can. The ulterior motive for this is to show the audience breathtakingly beautiful shots of Japan. I could almost watch a 90 minute film of the two of these characters going to various temples, gardens, and mountains, and still enjoy it.

Up next: Bringing down the house?...