Lost in Translation (2004, DVD)

I still recall the first time I heard Kevin Spacey say those words. "And I can't feel anything but gratitude in my stupid little life." And while I kind of got the gist of it, I couldn't help but feel an emptiness. It's as if I were supposed to have some profound epiphany afterwards. What actually happened was that this movie (American Beauty) ended up becoming one of my favorites of all time several months later, and the epiphany? It's still a work in progress to this day, like so many other things.

I can already tell you, based on pattern recognition (also known as precognition) that a similar thing will happen with Lost In Translation.

Lost In Translation is otherwise, quite frankly, pretty dull to the eyes. With the exception of the regal Scarlett Johansson, my memory of the film is mostly a big blue blur with the occasional bar scene. And yet there is something quite magical happening behind the curtain of dank, crowded Tokyo streets in which you get the feeling that everyone feels blissfully carefree in the stark darkness. It's tough to explain, really.

Don't even ask me about the plot, 'cause that would defeat the whole purpose. The plot is whatever you make of it, or maybe what you translate of it. A lot of scenes end just as they are starting to take shape, almost leaving one frustrated as to where exactly the film is headed. Golfers in front of picturesque mountains, kinky Japanese ladies, taxi rides, rip-roaring guitar music, Karaoke scenes, talks at 3 in the morning in bed. What does it all mean?

There is a dry humor that jumps out in the first half hour. Everything from a Japanese guy talking for 20 seconds to say something that only takes two seconds to say in English, to Bob Harris (Bill Murray) actually calling for help when his bicycle machine starts going too fast and you can actually see him getting his butt kicked by the machine. That latter scene was almost stuntman-worthy, it was so funny.

My favorite part of Lost In Translation was the music. There were a few hard rocking tunes, a Karaoke rendition of "More Than This" that actually made me like the song, sung by Bill Murray himself. I'm not the biggest fan of that song, but the film made me like it in that moment. Since my musical tastes are far more cemented than my movie tastes, I was duly impressed. There was also an excellent band rendition of "So Into You" that was far too short.

I don't know if I'd call this Bill Murray's career performance (that still goes to Groundhog Day), but he captured that loneliness once embodied by Lester Burnham. And while he, too, is finding a connection with a much younger girl, in this case he actually has something in common with her. And you know, that kind of helps! He is the man who is just on the brink of a midlife crisis and pondering his next big "move", or if one is even necessary.

Charlotte (Johanssen) has just gotten married to a workaholic, and they have just moved to Tokyo. You don't need detailed girly conversations to tell you this though, so don't panic if it doesn't give them to you. She sporadically runs into Bob Harris in the bar, and they exchange in a little harmless flirting. Her to see if she's got what it takes to impress a "veteran", him to see if he's still got it in the modern world. But this relationship has nothing to do with sex. Thank goodness.

The relationship is merely a connection. I'm the kind of person who absolutely hates traveling, who gets very discouraged about a lot of things when I am in unfamiliar surroundings. And maybe that's why just in the time I've been fingering away at this thing, I've come to realize that there were a lot of miraculous things about this connection between Bob and Charlotte, in the midst of proverbial chaos, in which they had no clue what was around the next corner, who would pop up next, or where they were going. You (and they) couldn't help but fantasize about what might happen if they were to just take off together, and although you (and they) know that it could never come to pass, you're not sad about it. Sometimes all you have is a moment. Sometimes a moment is all you need.

Lost In Translation is not for everyone. It's a slow-moving film that does a bit of symbolizing, alluding, maybe a tad of stereotyping, and there's a whole lot of stuff that doesn't have anything to do with the rest of the film. Or is it the rest of the film that doesn't have anything to do with the little stuff?

Fascinating, but not for the same reasons that a conventional film would be. Most movies appeal to what we wish we were. Lost In Translation appeals to what we are.