Lost - Sofia Coppola - 2010

Of course there are going to be spoilers. As ridiculous as that sounds given what kind of movie this is, come on—this entire thread is literally about the movie!

You guys know the story: it won a Golden Palm a month ago, competing against heavy hitters like Ozone, Tom Tykwer, Antonio Banderas, and Jerry Schnabel. Okay, fine, I’ll throw in my guy Jacques Audiard too, but I’m not counting him because he hasn't quite hit that superstar status yet—I only listed the big names. So, the plot follows this famous actor who spends his life bouncing from one luxury hotel to the next, living entirely on pills, booze, and hooking up with gorgeous women. Everything changes when he wakes up one morning to his daughter looking him dead in the eye and saying, "Hi, Dad." He tries to cling to his old lifestyle for a bit—not that he was ever actually happy with it to begin with—but he quickly realizes it just isn't working anymore. There’s a little crying from her, a little crying from him. Then, he finally decides to turn things around, and the movie ends right after he flashes his first genuine smile.

Look, saying "questionable motivation" is an understatement. Honestly? There isn't any. Aside from that theoretical necessity where she just *has* to burst into his life to kickstart the plot—otherwise, there wouldn't even be a movie—there's nothing there. Plus, the whole thing feels way too sugary sweet and just poorly executed. Happy end!Honestly, all things considered, that movie was actually really good.

You can't help but see the parallels with her own life here. It feels like she was living through this exact thing while her dad was busy collecting Golden Palms—or if we’re being totally honest about the timeline, while he was basically circling the drain. 😁Honestly, I’d rather just drop it. Let's move on.

I love how repetitive this movie is. It sets that pattern right in the very first frame and sticks to it religiously until the credits roll. There’s this specific shot composition they keep using—two vertical elements framing the center—that pops up maybe five or six times. It feels like those frames are literally crushing the main character. The camera stays so incredibly still, too. It keeps him trapped inside these tight interiors, and it’s not until the very end that he actually steps outside of something—doesn't matter if it's a hotel, a car, or some fancy restaurant. It’s such a heavy-handed metaphor for "breaking free from his chains," honestly. It gets almost painfully cheesy at the end when he just abandons his black Ferrari on the side of the road and walks off into the sunset toward some better life. Typical. 🙄Look, like I said before, I'm willing to let it slide. Honestly? I actually love how quiet and calm everything is. It completely strips away that fake, flashy glamour you usually see in those types of lives. There's this minimalism at play here that reminds me of what we saw in Lost, but they’ve added this layer of raw naturalism to it that just works.

Look, I’m definitely not an expert on Coppola's recurring themes, his characters, or how he builds his stories. I haven't actually sat down to watch "Suicide" or "Marie Antoinette" yet. But honestly? Even without seeing those, you can see some pretty obvious parallels between "Lost" and "Somewhere." It's right there.

Honestly, there’s so much here that I absolutely love. I'm really crossing my fingers that this actually makes its way to US theaters at some point. As of right now, I haven't heard anything about whether the distribution rights have even been picked up yet.

There’s nothing quite like watching the first two minutes of this clip right after finishing the movie. It hits different. Seriously. The 67th Cannes Film Festival just wrapped up, and I’ve been thinking about Sofia Coppola all day. Honestly, she’s such a vibe. There’s just something about her style that hits different. Every time she shows up at a major festival like this, you know it's going to be special. She has this way of capturing things that feels so effortless, yet totally intentional. It's rare to find a director who can balance that kind of aesthetic grace with actual substance. Just my two cents! 😁

I have to give some props to Phoenix for the soundtrack—they absolutely crushed it. And man, having an old pro like Savides behind the camera was a total win. You could really feel that influence from Glazer’s "Birth," van Sant’s "Elephant" trilogy, or even those heavy hitters like Fincher’s "Game" and "Zodiac." Just top-tier stuff.

Alright, now it's your turn. Your move. 😁

MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD

Lost in Translation 2—take it or leave it. We all know sequels usually suck, and this one follows the trend; it’s pretty weak. It’s an odd movie, though. I wouldn't go as far as calling it a total disaster, even if that's tempting, because it actually left me with a decent impression by the end. Now, look, I’m no expert on cinematography or frame composition, so my take is going to be based mostly on vibes and raw emotion. For the first 45 minutes to an hour, I was convinced this was going to be a complete train wreck, which is probably how most people felt too. But then Julian Casablancas from The Strokes shows up with that gorgeous track I'll try anything once, and suddenly the whole thing is saved 😍. Those few shots really blew me away. Overall, I loved how Sofia Coppola captured the simplicity of the lead character through these totally innocent, mundane, everyday moments; there was something about that that just clicked for me. That sense of life being boring, if I can put it that way. It falls right into that "repetitiveness" category that Arthur Garcia59 mentioned—and bravo (!) to him for sticking to his guns on that point. Though, I'm sure that kind of thing will drive some people absolutely insane, hahaha! I also dug her specific sense of humor that defined the original 'lost in translation,' which popped up here a few times in ways that were hard to resist (like that head rub 🤣, watching 'Friends' dubbed in Italian 🤣, or that damn 'masseur' 😂). The dialogue is pretty sparse, but given the plot and these specific characters, you couldn't expect any fucking heavy-hitting, brilliant monologues. This movie relies much more on gestures. And even as someone who shares Arthur Garcia59's sensibilities, I wasn't a fan of how it ended, but the framing (yeah, talking about shot 😁) during that final drive was cool. I definitely didn't see him getting out of the car and walking off into 'somewhere' ha ha—that part felt pretty lame to me. What can I say? It's an okay film. Nothing spectacular, but that was never the intention anyway. Honestly, I just hope Sofia Coppola doesn't make any more 'lost in translation' movies; two is plenty.

Okay, let's start with the good stuff. I finally found the time and just finished watching the long-awaited 'somewhere' (personally, maybe my most anticipated movie of the year 🙂). After watching the pretty disappointing 'Black Swan' yesterday,
I am super happy with it—and honestly glad I watched them in that order.

Even though 'somewhere' shares some DNA with Lost in Translation, it actually left me with a totally different vibe on this first watch. It’s much colder, more detached, and kind of static, which I don't think is a bad thing at all...
Of course, I wasn't expecting anyone to recreate the magic of 'Lost in Translation' or freeze that same kind of melancholy and atmosphere, but 'somewhere' gets incredibly close. It’s actually wild how they nail that terrifying sense of emptiness, loneliness, and insecurity during those shots where you just see the tight close-ups of Johnny Marco's face and hear that heavy breathing. That feeling runs through the whole movie, but here it feels pushed to the absolute limit. What surprises me every single time with Sofia Coppola's work is how she uses such easy, simple, and minimal plot shifts to show the deep emotional side of every character—the intimacy, the closeness, the relationships, or the total lack thereof...

Arthur Garcia59 said:I love the repetitive nature of the film, which is hinted at in the very first frame and stays true until the end. I like how they repeat certain shot compositions with two vertical motifs in the center across 5 or 6 different moments, which really seems to "crush" the character. I also dig the emphasized stillness of the camera and how the character is trapped in interiors; he doesn't actually step out of somewhere—be it a hotel, a car, a hall, or a restaurant—until the very end. That's when he "breaks free from his chains" using some pretty slippery metaphors, which ends up being almost pathetic and poorly done when he leaves his black Ford by the road and walks off toward a better future. But hey, like I said, I'll forgive it. I love the silence and calm that strips away the fake glamour of that lifestyle. I like the minimalism reminiscent of 'Lost in Translation,' but with an added layer of naturalism.

I agree with that word for word, though for me, the first sign of Johnny's 'liberation' is when the light exits the frame. 😁

Aesthetically, 'somewhere' is phenomenal. The cinematography is beautifully stylized and the soundtrack is gorgeous, but I guess that's just standard for any Sofia Coppola film. 🙂
And since she uses the same motifs in almost all her movies, she stays consistent here too: long stares out the window while driving, trees passing by, emotional venting over the phone...

Everything is still a bit of a blur right now because I'm still processing it, but overall, I really liked the movie and don't have many complaints. 🙂
7.5/10

Lisa Davis46 said:Staring out the window during long drives, watching trees blur past, having those heavy emotional breakdowns over the phone...

EXACTLY!
As far as I'm concerned, they could make a thousand more 😁

I'm actually looking forward to this movie after seeing all your positive reviews. Based on IMDb, I guess maybe she went a little too heavy on the subtlety this time. 😁

Arthur Garcia59 said:Obviously there are going to be spoilers. As ridiculous as that sounds given we're talking about this specific movie, come on—this entire thread is about the damn movie!

You know the drill: it won the golden lion a few months back (going up against stuff from ozone, Tom Tykwer, Pedro Almodóvar, and Lawrence Bender! Okay, fine, and my guy Nabil Elsherif, but I'm not counting him because he hasn't hit that level of fame yet; I'm just listing the heavy hitters). It’s about this famous actor living hotel to hotel, fueled by pills, booze, and hooking up with hot women, until one day he wakes up to his daughter's "Hi, dad." He tries to cling to his old lifestyle for a bit—even though he was never actually happy with it—but realizes it’s a dead end. There's some crying, hers and his. Then he decides to turn things around, and the movie ends right after his first genuine smile.

Now, the motivation here is pretty questionable—honestly, it's non-existent—but despite the lack of reason for his daughter suddenly crashing his life (other than the theoretical necessity that she shows up so the movie can actually exist) and that super sugary, poorly executed happy-end, the film is actually really good overall.

Even though you immediately see the parallels to the director's own life—she probably lived through something similar while her old man was busy collecting Palme d'Or awards or, if we're being precise about the timeline, while he was spiraling 😁--I'd rather just leave that out of it.

I dig the repetitiveness of the film; it’s signaled right in the opening shot and respected all the way through. I love how they repeat certain frame compositions with two vertical elements in the middle during 5 or 6 different moments, which really "crushes" the character visually. I love the emphasized stillness of the camera and how the character is trapped in interiors. He actually leaves a space for the first time at the very end—whether it's a hotel, a car, a hall, or a restaurant, whatever—when he "breaks free from all shackles" in the most cliché, metaphorical way possible. It gets incredibly pathetic and cheesy when he leaves his black Ford by the side of the road and walks off toward a better future 🙄, but hey, like I said, I'll give them that one. I love the silence and the calm that strips away the fake glamour of that lifestyle. I love the minimalism, which feels reminiscent of Lost in Translation but adds a layer of naturalism.

I don't claim to be an expert on recurring Coppola motifs, characters, or plots since I haven't seen either suicide or Marie Antoinette, but the parallels between Lost in Translation and somewhere are totally obvious.

Anyway, there's a lot to like here and I hope it hits US theaters eventually. No word yet on whether it's been picked up for distribution.

And it's a total blast watching the first two minutes of this clip right after the movie: 67th Cannes Film Festival - Sofia Coppola 😁

By the way, shout out to Phoenix for the score and to the veteran Savides for handling the camera, for lack of a better term—you know, the guy behind Glazer's birth, van Sant's elephant trilogy, Fincher's game and Zodiac.

Alright, your turn. 😁

Look, I’ll be blunt: this movie is a massive letdown. Coppola’s observations feel incredibly shallow and surface-level, honestly making her look like a director who doesn't actually have much to say. To put it mildly. It reminds me of some local "legend" like Damien Chazelle. Long story short, they’re both just posers—style over substance types making totally flat, 2-D films.

Just finished the movie. Not sure where I stand, but here is what worked for me:

- the static camera work
- driving the Ford on the Hollywood Freeway
- letting the score play out fully, start to finish, without any edits

Now, the downsides.

The portrayal of the movie star lifestyle missed the mark. After seeing those first ten minutes—that opening shot and the Ford drive—it felt great, but once the credits rolled, it just didn't hold up. Don't ask why.

The script is weak. Specifically, how they handled the minor characters. It ranges from disingenuous, quirky assistants to that one wannabe actor at the party asking if our lead is a "method actor."

And the lead's name? Johnny Marco? What the hell?

To put it bluntly: the film is beautifully shot. The framing is excellent. But the script is mediocre enough that I can't justify giving this anything higher than a solid 6/10.

For what it's worth, I liked it better than Lost in Translation.🤷

Joshua Smith5 said:Honestly, I think it’s actually better than "Lost in Translation". 🤷

Look, this movie doesn't even come close to being on the same level as "Lost in Translation." We're talking about a modern masterpiece with "Lost in Translation" that I could watch a million times without getting bored. This flick? I couldn't stomach watching it more than a couple of times, tops. It isn't a massive catastrophe like a historical disaster, but make no mistake—it was a disappointment.

It’s a bit slow at times, I guess, but I definitely won't be revisiting it like I did Lost in Translation par put 🙂. I did dig those dancing twins, though, and his daughter has a really lovely smile
.

spoiler Lost in Translation

Man, I see so many great comments about this movie... especially when people mention how much they love Lost in Translation. I actually watched it during one of those specific moments in my life where everything just clicked, and it really captured me. It hit so hard that I ended up spending way too much time scouring the internet just to figure out what they were whispering at the very end.😁

Jamie Nelson10 said:I was totally hooked—until I went down a rabbit hole online trying to figure out what that whisper actually meant.😁

😍😁 I’ve heard people buzzing about that video online—you know, the one where they went through all that extra effort just to make sure you can hear every single whisper. Honestly? Not my cup of tea. I couldn't care less. 🙂

Honestly, this is one of those litmus test movies for me. It’s how I gauge someone's actual emotional depth—basically, a way to see if their sensibilities align with mine or if we're just fundamentally incompatible. 😉

Richard Johnson42 said:😍😁 I've heard some rumors floating around about there being a video online where they actually worked really hard to make sure you could hear exactly what's being whispered, though I guess I didn't find myself particularly interested in looking into that 🙂

Anyway, I feel like it’s one of those movies you can use to gauge someone's emotional sensibility, or at least see how much their perspective aligns with my own 😉

It was incredibly compatible with mine...🙂...whereas a huge chunk of people seem to claim the movie is just maddeningly boring...as for that whispering thing, man, I spent half the internet searching for it...everyone seems to have their own little interpretation...but honestly, maybe it's better left ambiguous so you aren't quite sure and can just process it your own way...though I suppose that whisper really did give the whole film its final, defining touch...

The mere fact that you’re even capable of spoiling a movie is a spoiler in its own right! 😁

Fair enough, but what’s the actual point? It’s not like we gained any fresh perspective on a topic that's already been beaten to death. The two best shots are just two long zooms—one being a total zoom-fest. It kind of gives off 'The Brown Bunny' vibes, except that movie is way better.
Honestly, 2010 has been a pretty shitty year for movies so far. I've only seen one truly great film worth watching (though I still have a few others on my watchlist).

says:
Fair enough, but honestly, what’s the actual payoff here? It’s not like we walked away with some profound new perspective on a topic that's already been beaten to death. The two lead actors are basically just two versions of the same exhausted trope—one is just more "out there" than the other. It kind of gives off those *The Brown Bunny* vibes, but let's be real, that movie is vastly superior to this.
Overall, 2010 has turned out to be a pretty mediocre year for cinema so far. I’ve only found one truly great, worthwhile film, and even then, I’ve still got a few others on my watchlist that might actually live up to the hype.

Which one is the great one you're talking about? Give me a recommendation if I haven't seen 🙂

total losers 😁

Ugh, I have to admit, I rushed to see this movie the second it dropped because I’m such a sucker for Sofia Coppola. I mean, I absolutely adore "Lost in Translation," and I hold "Marie Antoinette" in such high regard too. For some reason, I missed them in theaters, so I had to catch up. But, but... 🤦 what happened, Sofia? Look, the movie is fine—it isn't bad—but it’s nowhere near as good as her previous stuff, especially LIT. A bunch of people have already written exactly what I’m thinking. The story feels pretty shallow, and the main guy, Johnny, along with his daughter, are just... surface-level. I get it, we all know Johnny is a total loser who's completely failing at life and that his daughter is basically running circles around him in every way. But seriously, couldn't Sofia have handled that better? I’m honestly so disappointed. 😢 Don't get me wrong, I loved the scenes in the Ferrari and that drive down Sunset Blvd (mostly just for my own sentimental reasons, I guess). And the soundtrack? Yeah, it works; it has that typical stillness she does so well. But is that really it? And the ending was just stupid. Like, WTF? Such a massive cliché. 🤦 All he was missing was a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. You know, the ultimate symbol of a new life (which, in my book, starts right before you cook your first real meal in life).

Overall, it's worth a watch, but that's about it. Sadly.

I actually really enjoyed this film. What I find so appealing about Sofia Coppola is this (somewhat unexpected) lack of pretension; she doesn't feel the need to force some heavy-handed, complex script on us, because, if you ask me, a "classic plot" isn't even necessary for a movie like this, which feels more like a mere slice of someone's life. Johnny Marco basically embodies everything there is to say about the subject, eventually just spiraling into that repetitive routine at the Chateau Marmont—which, as pacifist so brilliantly summarized,

...it’s that palpable sense of being trapped by interiors, since he arguably steps out from under a roof—be it a hotel, a car, a hall, or a restaurant, it hardly matters—for the very first time at the very end of the film..

The dialogue, in my opinion, is almost entirely incidental to what I believe is the director's true goal, which seems to be crafting a sort of autobiographical look at the glamorous emptiness inherent in this kind of lifestyle—an idea that is quite pointedly underscored by those two random strippers/go-go dancers
). You have little Ell hitting Dakota for ten grand (who, by the way, looks stunning in this Rodarte-style fashion film), and Dorff is quite good too. 🙂

I don't claim to be an expert on the technicalities of filmmaking, but for me, this is quintessential Sofia Coppola; it's all about that specific atmosphere and visual texture which, despite the "lack" of a traditional narrative, manages to hold your attention incredibly well.

Look, the movie isn't bad. It’s just that I went in fully expecting to be left completely shell-shocked, you know? Like, I thought I'd be staring at a wall for days just processing it. But I wasn't really impressed, which honestly kind of annoys me. I don't even know why. 😁 It wasn't actually the lack of a plot that got to me—I mean, that poor guy Johnny is such a total void of a human being that you can't even build a meaningful story around him if you tried. What really bothered me was how superficial everyone felt. They lacked that three-dimensional, believable quality, you know? I'm positive Sofia Coppola could have handled this much better. On the flip side, I did dig how it mocks all that phony glamour and fake celebrity culture. It shows this guy who, despite all his supposed success, is just profoundly miserable and empty inside. He's just drifting, wandering through hotels, drinking, driving that black Ferrari of his in circles... it's pathetic. His daughter is really the only bright spot in his whole gray, mental wasteland; despite having a superstar for a dad, she actually stayed grounded. 👍 I loved that part. 😍 And I liked that he finally just gave up and admitted to himself that he's a total loser. But still, the whole thing just felt... ugh, I don't know... 😁 But whatever, it is what it is. I still love SC, and I think the movie is worth a watch.