Review of Lost in Translation

When I watched Lost in Translation I didn't expect the film to be a love story, I thought it would be something different. I haven't seen many love films because I don't like them very much, but when I saw Lost in Translation I decided that the film was good, that it was interesting and that it wasn't your typical love story, it has a little more of depth.

The story is about the relationship between the actor Bob Murray and Charlotte, the wife of a photographer. Both of them travel to Tokio for different reasons: Bob to film an advertisement and Charlotte because her husband has to take some photos in Tokio. The question is that both of the main characters are bored and that they don't enjoy life. They meet by chance because they are in the same hotel and they begin a great friendship which later evolves into something more...

As I said, one of the things of the film I like the most is that it has some depth, that both characters are well defined, although they don't have an extremely developed personality. Bob is a man in his forties and is having a midlife crisis: he is bored with his job, he isn't motivated to do things with his wife and he is lacking in romance. For her part, Charlotte has travelled to Tokio to accompany her husband, John, who is a photographer. However, Charlotte doesn't see a great future for their relationship because she thinks that John is more interested in celebrities than in her. Furthermore, her husband is always working and she is always alone in her bedroom. So then, the two characters have very similar personalities and are having bad times in Tokio.

For this reason, when they see for the first time they get along well at the moment. They start to talk about their lives and their sorrows and they soon make friends each other. They spent almost all their free time together and they have fun together. This friendship will eventually end in love (but this love is different because they love each other, but they know they can't be together, they accept it and they use this love as a way to find answers to their problems by talking to each other), and I think that this relationship will help them understand their situations and to find a solution for their crisis. Personally, I like the scene where Bob and Charlotte are in the bed resting for a bit and they realize that they are depressed beacuse they don't know what they really want in their life, they are lost in their lives, they are "lost in translation". I tink that this is true, because if you don't know what do you want, you will make decisions that aren't good for you an that will make you suffer every day of your life.

So then, I think that one of the messages of the film is that you have to live the life you want, you have to make the things that you really like to because if you don't do them you will be regretting it all your life and you will end being depressed.

On the other hand, the film also shows the difference between two ages: the age of Bob, more classical, and the age of Charlotte, more influenced by the new technologies and the changes of the new century. Furthermore, the film makes a contrast between Japanese and American cultures, and I think that the effect is very good because, unlike other films where Japanese people will talk in English, almost every Japanese talks in their mother language. This contrast makes that the two main characters were lost in a completely new world. I also think that this is a metaphor of the true meaning of the film, how the characters are lost in their lives, as I said before. 

Finally, I think that the actors chosen for the roles of Bob and Charlotte are very good and that they successfully give the public the sensation of their boredom and their depression. Personally, when I watched the film I felt like if I was feeling the same as them. But although I like the actors' job, I don't think that it is enough to nominate them for an Oscar. This is another thing that surprised me: how a love film that apparently looks simple has been as successful as to be nominated for 4 Oscars. Sincerely, I don't think that this film is that good, but it is true that Lost in Translation is original and that has a very good message.

To sum up, just saying that I like this film very much, especially for the message and because sometimes I feel  identified with the characters. But although I like the film, I don't that it is a masterpiece as many people say. However, it's true that the film is original, interesting and very enjoyable because it encourages the members of the audience to make the most of their lives and to never waste it.