Lost in translation

So, this was one of those movies I put in the "maybe watch on a rainy Sunday" pile, and—honestly? I overplayed my hand. It’s just... messy. Fragmented, disorganized, totally nonsensical. There isn't really any dialogue to speak of, let alone any actual reveals or plot twists. I almost turned it off halfway through, but I felt obligated to push through since it’s an Oscar nominee and features the first female director in that category. Good grief, what a jumbled mess of scenes and cuts. And the acting? Don't get me started. Murray isn't even really acting, and the young girl is the only one who looks remotely convincing, but that’s about it. The supporting cast flies by like a bullet train; you don't learn a single thing about them. This isn't even "watchable," much less "solid" or worthy of being some Oscar-nominated masterpiece. What a joke. 🙄

Jessica Nguyen85 said:This was one of those movies I usually just leave on the shelf to gather dust—and honestly, I should have. It’s all over the place, messy, totally aimless, with almost zero dialogue and absolutely no twists or reveals to keep things interesting.

Look, it’s a drama, not a soap opera... if you need constant plot twists and shocking revelations, maybe stick to daytime TV or some fast-paced Vin Diesel action flick.🙄
Personally, I actually dig the slow pace and the lethargic vibe of this thing... it isn't some overblown, tear-jerking romance designed to manipulate your emotions.
I guess most people would prefer a story where characters hook up, break up, realize they're soulmates, get married, and ride off into the sunset...
But this isn't that kind of movie, and it definitely isn't that kind of love story.

I was halfway through wanting to shut it off, but I forced myself to finish since it's an Oscar nominee and features the first female director in that category. Good grief, what a pile of senseless scenes and disjointed cuts. And the acting? Please. Murray barely acts at all, and the young girl is the only one who looks decent, but that's about it. The supporting cast flies by like a freight train and we learn nothing about them. This isn't even "watchable," let alone "solid" or "hyped"—yet here it is, nominated for Best Picture. What a joke.🙄

I actually thought Murray was phenomenal in this role... I went in expecting him to be forced or leaning too hard into his usual quirks, but he pulled it off.
As for the supporting characters moving fast, it actually makes sense; they don't matter to the plot, and the film clearly shows how the leads (Murray and Scarlett) completely ignore everyone else, including their own spouses.

I thought the film was excellent. It perfectly captures that raw sense of panic you feel when you're stranded in a foreign land where you don't speak a word of the language. It really drives home how much we actually depend on our surroundings and the people around us. Coming from a small, relatively insignificant place myself, I know exactly what it feels like to face culture shock when traveling abroad—though I can only imagine how overwhelming it must be for regular Americans. Television spends so much time convincing them that anyone living outside the States is either someone with a ridiculous accent, a terrorist, an organ trafficker, or just some corrupt politician.

I was genuinely struck by how Japanese cities are depicted as these absolute "Ghost in the Shell" landscapes, overflowing with—and I mean *overflowing*—neon signs and massive skyscrapers. It’s just an endless expanse of concrete, steel, glass, and asphalt... honestly, it gives me the chills. Of course, not all of Japan looks like that, but for someone like me living in a place like Chicago, it feels pretty intimidating.

I actually quite enjoy the atmosphere of this strip club. It looks less like an upscale lounge and more like a World War II bunker, complete with raw, unadorned gray concrete walls punctuated only by the occasional neon light. On small, fluorescent-lit stages, dancers with vacant expressions and pink hair perform, wearing nothing but leather thongs. In the background, heavy bass thumps through the room while a woman with a raspy voice wheezes out lyrics like, "Suck on my titty, suck on my titty now..." Surrounding the stages, men in black business suits sit in leather armchairs barely six inches from the performers, smoking cigarettes and watching the show with an air of profound boredom.
In that entire GitS sequence, Bill Murray is just sitting there. A woman walks up to him and says, "Let's get out of here." Bill stands up, walks over to the woman who’s busy working the bridge—swaying her hips and everything—leans in close to her, says, "So long now!", gives her a wave, and just walks off.

We were absolutely dying laughing at that scene. It’s honestly a rarity these days to see actual comedy that doesn't rely on someone farting or spilling some gross liquid everywhere.

Look, this is a drama, not some soap opera... if you’re looking for twists and turns, stick to those Mexican or Brazilian telenovelas... if you need speed and adrenaline, go watch a Vin Diesel movie.

😁
I appreciate the commentary on my taste, really, but I’m sticking to my guns: this movie doesn't deserve a single Oscar nomination. And again, regarding the acting—if I wanted to stare at expressionless, pretty faces, I’d go window shopping at a boutique. If I actually wanted to see Japan, I'd just pick up a 'Lonely Planet' guide.

Seriously, if anyone can find a single line of dialogue between the two leads that has actual substance... and isn't just some heavy-handed cliché, I'll eat my hat. Memorable Quotes:

You're probably just having a mid-life crisis. Did you buy a Porsche yet?

Ooooh... wow... that one really hits hard. Or maybe that was supposed to be 'funny':

Bob: I was feeling tight in the shoulders and neck, so I called down and had a Shiatsu massage in my room...
Charlotte: Mmh, that's nice!
Bob: And the tightness has completely disappeared, and then replaced by unbelievable pain!
[she laughs]
😁

Or maybe "Philosophy for Dummies":

Charlotte: I just don't know what I'm supposed to be.
Bob: You'll figure that out. The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.

Oh my GOD!!!!!! 🙏

And while we're on the subject of an older guy and a younger girl, you're better off watching 'The Good Thief'... if nothing else, the cast is at least a notch above this.

Jessica Nguyen85 said:😁
I appreciate the commentary on my taste, but I’m sticking to my guns: this movie doesn't deserve a single Oscar nomination. As for the acting—if I wanted to watch expressionless, pampered characters, I'd just go window shopping at a high-end boutique.

But you're not bitter or anything, eh?

If someone can actually point out a single line of dialogue between the two leads that has "it"—something that isn't a heavy-handed cliché—then I'll eat my hat.

It feels to me like if someone actually managed to pull that off, you'd just find some other excuse to dismiss it as a cliché or something banal. Perhaps I'm wrong, but frankly, I couldn't care less.

But you're not bitter or anything, eh?

Man, you might actually be onto something there. I paid for the rental and then wasted two whole hours on top of it. Yeah. I am. 😉

I wish I was like you
easily amused

Man, what can I even say... 😉

Maybe I'm just talking nonsense right now, but (there's always an 'if' 🙄) , those specific dialogues are really what give this movie its soul... along with that sort of 'boring' atmosphere...
I think it did a great job capturing them getting to know each other—that friction between them, the tension hanging in the air, all those unspoken feelings...

redgull44 said:Well, what can I say... 😉

Maybe I'm just talking nonsense now, but (there's always a "but," isn't there? 🙄) those specific dialogues are really what make this movie unique... along with that sort of "boring" atmosphere...
I think it captured their introduction perfectly—that sense of friction between them, the tension in the air, all those underlying emotions...

In other words: you liked the movie and he didn't. That’s the absolute worst part about debating films—actually, it applies to pretty much anything. At some point, you just hit a wall: you describe a scene that you thought was brilliant, while I look at that exact same moment and think it was garbage.

It’s just a matter of personal taste and experience, I guess. Take the scene where Bill Murray talks to his wife about buying a new rug: even though the conversation is technically serious, I was dying laughing when my friends started pointing out what she was *actually* saying, and how Bill was bound to offend her no matter what he said, since she couldn't just claim it was "just a rug" while he's looking at those samples being delivered via FedEx. Both of them had recently dealt with some awkward situations with women, so they were still clearly on edge, which was obvious from the way they commented on it.

Hopefully, they're feeling the sting now.

'Lost in translation' would probably rank among the absolute worst movies I’ve sat through in the last decade—if I can even call it that, since I practically crawled out of the theater after just thirty minutes. Honestly, the last time I bailed on a movie like that was when I saw 'The Wedding Singer'.
And man, oh man, what a disaster. It wasn't just that the dialogue felt totally shallow; half the scenes were completely pointless, like you could swap them around or cut them entirely and nothing would change, just total nonsense. Don't even get me started on the amateurish execution of the script, which was just straight-up garbage.
I mean, seriously, what is the point? What was the actual vision here, and what kind of reaction were they even aiming for? If the goal—like some people claim—was to use the atmosphere to paint this picture of an existential crisis and how isolated we all feel in a post-industrial society, where being physically displaced serves as a metaphor for feeling lost in a tech-driven world (basically a tiny, freshman-level course in existentialism by Sofia Coppola), then fine, I guess it worked. It worked so well it actually drove me out of the cinema from sheer, soul-crushing boredom.
Now, look, I absolutely love Scarlett Johansson—ever since she was in 'Ghost World' (now *that* was a great movie)—and she was fantastic in 'The Man Who Wasn't There,' too. But at this rate, she's headed for the exact same fate as Kate Winslet.

Susan Wright12 said:I guess she's headed for the same fate as Kate Winslet.

Is she actually going to be in "Titanic ii : Revenge of The Ghost Pirates" ??? 🤔

Susan Wright12, that movie exists specifically so you don't have to watch it.
You’re being a bit too grumpy, honestly.
But hey, good for you for having the energy to write a whole essay about a thirty-minute film.
It sounds like TV series are more your speed.

xe, xe...
I’m telling you, man, you gotta pitch this idea immediately. Seriously, it’s way better than some low-budget flop like Titanic ii : Revenge of The Ghost Pirates.

Susan Wright12 said:...where we can view geographic displacement as a metaphor for human displacement within a technological landscape (like a little existentialism seminar from Sofia Coppola)

I'm sorry, but this feels more like Susan Wright12's little school of existentialism to me. 😉

Honestly, I think the woman just portrayed a simple encounter between an aging actor going through a midlife crisis and a young woman dealing with an absentee husband. Why does everything have to get so complicated with these overly deep interpretations and critical overkill? It’s always amused me how people have this innate urge—is it an urge? I suppose so—to see one thing and insist it's actually something entirely different.
🙂

I’m right there with you, honestly. It’s basically just a movie about some aging actor hitting his midlife crisis running into a young woman whose husband is perpetually MIA. I mean, let’s be real, it’s nothing more than a rom-com—a pretty boring one at that, but hey, what can you do?
That whole interpretation was really just pre-empting the exact kind of sentimental garbage people who love this flick always go for. Personally, I just can't stomach that whole vibe of bored, upper-class Americans living their best lives while being totally disconnected from reality.

Justin Patel: If you honestly can't see that this movie is absolute garbage, then you straight up don't have the right to say anything about film as an art form or a craft. Period.
Look, I get it, people can argue about taste all day long—that’s what debates are for—but we aren't talking about "taste" here. We're talking about objective, undeniable lack of quality. It's just bad.
Richard Hernandez13, why are you throwing those kinds of hints my way? You're gonna make me misinterpret things, man.

Susan Wright12, you really cracked me up.

First off, you haven't even seen the movie.
Second, because I actually watched it—and liked it—you’re implying I’m not qualified to have an opinion (which makes me wonder why *you* think you are). If I say the exact same thing about the film, well, you can kiss my shiny ass; I couldn't care less.
And third, those sexual insinuations you made regarding a movie you haven't even viewed, yet proceeded to trash, are totally out of line and have nothing to do with having good taste.
How should I put this...

we're talking about objective (un)quality here.

Susan Wright12 said:... in this instance, we're talking about objective (un)quality.

Actually, no...

...it's more about a subjective impression.
Another thing that really trips me up is the idea that someone can take their own personal perception and claim it's somehow "better" or "more correct" than what someone else experienced. 🙂

...

A quick side note: why am I peppering this with emojis? Well, if I've learned anything from chatting on this forum, it's that if you don't strategically place enough smiley faces when you're presenting an opinion that's the polar opposite of someone else's, they won't see it as an invitation to chat. Instead, they'll take it as a personal attack on their worldview, an insult to their very soul, and a direct affront to their entire family tree going back fifteen generations. Once that happens, instead of having a deep, meaningful discussion, you just end up in a massive flame war. This weird phenomenon probably exists because we lack the non-verbal cues of face-to-face communication, and emojis are basically our best substitute for all that body language. 🙂

You might notice I popped an emoji after that previous thought and one right after this sentence. 😉

Susan Wright12 said:If you can't recognize that this movie is garbage, then you lack the basic qualifications to offer any opinion on film as an art form or a craft.
One can certainly debate matters of taste, provided that taste remains the subject at hand. In this specific instance, however, we are dealing with objective quality—or the complete lack thereof.

That interpretation merely anticipated the typical sentiments held by this film's fanbase. Personally, I have little sympathy for the bourgeois boredom of displaced Americans.

My name is Susan Wright12, and I am currently pursuing my law degree. Profundus Maximus!"

It’s just a love story—nothing more, nothing less. Regarding the acting, I think I mentioned this before... Bill always plays it that way, with that signature melancholy. Honestly, he could have snagged an Oscar for *endless day*, but hey, forget the Oscar. The acting isn't bad, but when I read reviews calling it "phenomenal," "masterful," or "flawless"... I have to say, that feels like a massive stretch. I saw little Johansson in a movie I actually liked better—*spirit world*. She’s got great potential, but I feel like both Bill and her really should have delivered something much stronger here. It was Sofia, Coppola's daughter, who was the one saying, "Okay, great, you were amazing," instead of the usual "Cut! Let's go again." Personally, I prefer Sofia's directorial debut, but people are going to have their opinions on what they like and what they don't. To me, *The Virgin Suicides* is a fantastic film, while *Lost in translation* is just... okay. And here is a bunch of poorly placed emojis for good measure: 😎 🙄 🙂 😛 🙂

I knew right as the credits rolled that this movie was going to be polarizing, pretty much in the same way people reacted to Amelia.