Lost in translation

Kyle White2 said:Yeah, people who’ve actually spent time in Japan lately are saying the exact same thing...

It isn't even authentic Japanese culture—it’s just imported American stuff... I really hope everyone understands that here.

I wouldn't go so far as calling it "imported American" culture—it's more nuanced than that. The reality is that the Japanese are absolutely obsessed with foreign cultures, specifically Western ones, and that obsession is actually a core part of their own cultural identity. They don't just admire Western culture; they view it with this sense of total wonder and curiosity—they just cannot get enough. You see it in the massive, wide-eyed eyes in their comics and anime—it's pure symbolism of how they perceive the West.

Kyle White2 said:Yeah, people who've actually spent some time in Japan lately are saying the exact same thing...

It’s obviously not some authentic slice of Japanese culture—it’s just imported American stuff... I'd hope everyone realizes that by now.

See, I have a buddy who’s been living out in Japan for three years now, and he sees things totally differently. From his perspective, Lost in translation just stays on the surface level with these little anecdotal bits.
Look, if EVERY single Japanese person in a movie is portrayed as a punchline, then yeah—something is definitely off.

I don't know if I'd really go along with that idea.

Even if that were somehow the case, you've got to remember that the movie doesn't actually show every single Japanese person out there. 😉

Don't tell me they aren't!
🙄
Aha, well then we're good.😁

Even though this thread is old, I can't just sit here. I’ve been scrolling through some of these comments and honestly, seeing people call this movie a phenomenon makes my skin crawl.
To be real, I didn't have the energy to read everything everyone wrote, but I pretty much agree with Raymond on almost everything.
Aside from the fact that Scarlett and Bill did a decent job playing two pathetic losers, I can't find anything else good about this movie. The humor is basically on par with a Dustin Hoffman cartoon. I don't get who else finds this broken style funny—where they take twenty Japanese phrases and translate them using five English words? Maybe a six-year-old.
Bill on a treadmill??? The one he can't turn off? Come on. There's barely a treadmill in existence where the STOP button isn't bright red and visible from an airplane for safety reasons. He's staying at a hotel full of tourists, and I'm supposed to believe the fitness center equipment is all in Japanese???
The Fax that kept him awake was just another reason why the theater jokes were total flops. Geez...
And why the hell did I have to sit through fifteen minutes of fucking karaoke??? Seriously....
Scarlett, this young girl, goes to Japan after being dumped by her man—oh, poor thing—and she's too clueless to handle a whole new world like Japan, so instead, she spends her days and nights in a hotel bar despite having so much potential? What a pathetic sob story.
I will say, I liked how they were both two lonely, miserable souls ( 🙂 ) and how they found what they found. In the end, they don't even kiss or have sex in a bar setting; they just connect on some higher level, but they're pathetic to the core.
The movie is boring. Shallow. Longman. Disappointing. But what pissed me off most, both as someone who views "film as art" and someone who uses movies to kill boredom, is the unearned hype this garbage received. Everywhere I look, it's "masterpiece," "work of art," 5 out of 5 stars, 10 out of 10, 32 out of 32. And then they serve us this pile of crap. Pfft.
If this is a masterpiece, where does that leave something like The Godfather? Not to mention plenty of other films that actually hold way more value in my book.

Oh, please, it’s the same old story: people dismissing anyone who actually enjoyed the movie by calling them childish—just because they laughed at some jokes meant for a six-year-old—or labeling them pretentious if they preferred something slow and heavy, or even worse, acting like they're emotional wrecks just because they actually felt something during the sentimental parts.

Honestly, it’s nothing I haven’t seen a thousand times before on this forum. 🙄

Richard Hernandez13 said:Classic. Dismissing people who actually liked the movie as either childish (because they laughed at jokes meant for six-year-olds), pretentious (because they enjoy slow movies), or just total emotional wrecks (because they only care about the sappy stuff).

Nah, it's more about not getting why people call it a masterpiece. Personally? It was fine for a killer rainy Sunday afternoon. I'll watch it on Blu-ray once and forget it exists by tomorrow. A solid 3 out of 5 stars for me. But seeing it get a perfect score in every major US newspaper? That’s just overkill. And that's what bugs me.

Noah Harris50 said:It’s an old topic, but I just had to jump in—after skimming through some of these comments, I’m honestly getting a little annoyed seeing people call this movie a phenomenon.
To be real, I didn't bother reading everything everyone wrote here, but pretty much everything I saw aligns with what Raymond thinks.
Aside from the fact that Scarlett and Bill did a decent job playing two pathetic losers, I can't find anything else good about it. The humor is basically like something out of a Dustin Hoffman cartoon—I don't get who else finds that cheap, broken style funny, where they try to translate twenty Japanese sentences using only five English words? Maybe a six-year-old?
Bill on a treadmill??? One he can't figure out how to turn off? Come on. There’s hardly a treadmill in the US where the STOP button isn't bright red and visible from space (for safety reasons). He’s staying at a hotel where tourists show up, and I'm supposed to believe the gym equipment is all in Japanese???
That Fax that kept him awake was just another reason why the joke in the theater fell totally flat. Geez...
And why did I have to sit through fifteen minutes of fucking karaoke??? Seriously...
So, Scarlett is this young girl traveling to Japan, abandoned by her man—oh, poor thing—and she’s too overwhelmed by a whole new world like Japan to do anything but spend her days and nights in a hotel bar, despite being young and (supposedly) full of potential?! What a pathetic sob story.
I do like how those two lonely souls ( 🙂 ) ended up finding each other, and how they formed that connection without a single kiss or any actual sex—they just understood each other on some higher level—but man, they are pathetic to the core.
The movie is boring. Shallow. Longman. Disappointing. But what really got under my skin as someone who views "film as art"—and also as someone who uses movies to kill boredom—is the unearned hype this garbage received. Everywhere I look, it's "masterpiece," "work of art," 5 out of 5 stars, 10 out of 10, 32 out of 32. And then they serve us this crap. Psh.
If this is a masterpiece, where does that leave The Godfather, for example? Not even mentioning other films that, in my opinion, carry way more weight.

Plus, you can actually see the microphone. 😁 😁 😁

Noah Harris50 said:It’s not really about being wrong, it’s more like a fundamental misunderstanding from the people who insist it’s a total masterpiece.

I guess it's pretty simple: neither side is actually incorrect.

David Edwards83 said:Look, I have a buddy who's been living out in Japan for three years now, and he totally disagrees. According to him, Lost in Translation just stays on the surface with these shallow little anecdotes.
Listen, if EVERY single person in Japan is portrayed as a joke in a movie, then there’s definitely a problem with the perspective.

They aren't all funny. Actually, none of them are. The Americans in the movie see the locals a certain way, and that's how we see them—through their eyes. Get it?

I fell head over heels for this movie and ended up watching it five times in a single week. To put it this way: how does it feel for you to rewatch the exact same film over and over?
The reason is simple: it’s just that good.
This is actually the first time in my life I can point my finger at one specific movie and declare it my absolute favorite.

I initially approached it with a fair amount of skepticism, feeling almost a sense of dread because of how much hype it was getting. I honestly thought I wouldn't enjoy it, fearing the massive media blitz would inflate my expectations beyond what the film could actually deliver.

Now that I've finished it, I have zero desire to watch anything else; I'd much rather sit through Lost in Translation again.

Lost in Translation

witch said:this is quite literally the first time in my entire life that I can point to one single movie and declare it to be the absolute best

🙏

To add to that: I haven't seen a film even remotely close to this level since then;

and honestly, I won't celebrate another birthday until they produce a romance that I can say actually stands on equal footing with Lost in Translation.

loneotter57 said:My next birthday will probably coincide with the release of some romance flick that I can actually say holds a candle to Lost in Translation.

Personally, I think True Romance is a better romance movie. 😬

Good grief, you really could use some dental work 😁

Noah Harris50 said:It’s an old topic, but I can’t just sit here and stay quiet. I’ve been skimming through what everyone else has written, and honestly, it makes my skin crawl seeing people call this movie a masterpiece.
To be blunt, I didn't have the patience to read every single comment here, but I agree with almost everything Raymond said.
Aside from the fact that Scarlett and Bill did a decent job playing two pathetic losers, I can't find anything else good about this film. The humor feels like something out of a Dustin Hoffman cartoon. I don't get who else finds this "quirky" style funny—where twenty Japanese phrases are translated using five English words? Maybe a six-year-old.
Bill on a treadmill??? The one he can't figure out how to turn off? Come on. There's barely a treadmill in existence where the STOP button isn't bright red and visible from space for safety reasons. He’s staying at a hotel full of tourists, and I'm supposed to believe the gym equipment is all labeled in Japanese???
The Fax that keeps him awake was just another reason why the jokes in the theater were falling flat. Geez...
And why did I have to endure fifteen minutes of fucking karaoke??? Seriously...
Scarlett, this young woman, goes to Japan and is abandoned by her muses—oh, the tragedy. She can't handle a whole new world like Japan, so instead of doing something with her life while she's young and talented, she spends her days and nights in a hotel bar. What a pathetic sob story.
I will say, I liked how those two lonely souls ( 🙂 ) ended up together, and how they formed that connection without a single kiss or a moment of sex. They understood each other on some higher level, but they are pathetically miserable.
The movie is boring. Shallow. Longman. Disappointing. But what annoyed me most—as someone who views film as art, and as someone who uses movies to kill boredom—is the unearned hype this garbage received. Everywhere I look, I see "masterpiece," "work of art," 5 out of 5 stars, 10 out of 10, 32 out of 32. And then, in the end, they serve us this pile of shit. Whatever.
If this is a masterpiece, where does that leave something like The Godfather? Not to mention plenty of other films that actually hold much more value.

Man, you clearly missed the entire point of this movie.🙂 🙂

fransiskol said:man, you clearly missed the entire point of this movie 🙂 🙂

wow, my bad. guess I did. would love to hear what you actually took away from it though.

The movie was absolute garbage

Henry Martin10 said:this movie sucks

short and sweet 🤣

Noah Harris50 said:Keep it simple. 🤣

🤣 🤣

The movie was an absolute disaster—easily one of the most tedious and uninspired films I've ever sat through. As for the acting, it was completely lifeless.