Lost in Translation

This very sweet and unforced film about falling in platonic love perhaps could not have been written and directed without living through a similar experience. Lost in Translation is harmoniously fluid, without a single cliché of the romance genre, with an atypical and yet pleasantly well-coordinated couple, sincere dialogue and a minimalist conclusion with a stronger emotional impact than even the great romantic classics offer. “The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you”. (06/04/2021)

YES! Anyone who says this film is amazing and doesn't hold back the superlatives is absolutely right. A beautiful love story that managed to avoid all unnecessary clichés and superficialities, while being (no wonder) original. Praise for the directing, which is extraordinarily civil, non-stylized, in a way inconspicuous and draws the viewer into the film. Praise for Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray for acting performances that go far below the surface of the characters. Murray's mimic minimalism, in particular, is worthy of infinite respect – how little is enough to perfectly portray a character... Just to have the gift. Praise for the music, the camera... and, of course, above all the screenplay. The way two lost people find each other in a world of unknown signs and strange morals is simply magnificent. For all the side motifs that Lost in Translation offers, the searching (for themselves) of the main characters in the middle of the unknown seems to me to be the most beautiful thing I have taken from the film. It can probably be seen as a statement about an era, about the meeting of different cultures, but the most beautiful thing in it is precisely the most intimate. What it can do without blatant phrases and shocking scenes. What stands out so beautifully against the backdrop of an artificial and ridiculously complicated world – the story of a fleeting blending of two souls. And in such a sensitive and tender rendition that I prefer to stop and go and "experience". (03/13/2004)

"It's Suntory time..." Melancholy in its purest cinematic form. Scarlett is wonderful, but the clear driving force of the film is the incredibly natural Bill Murray. Sensitively filmed and with an absolutely great atmosphere that completely absorbs you and does not let you go until the closing credits. (01/22/2007)

A very nice film. Gentle. And the characters in it don't act like they always do, but become people, real people. I was drawn into their midst. I didn't want to be a bystander. I wanted to walk around Tokyo. A city I long to visit. For all that, I'm simply forced to give it full stars. I just want to, and that's it. Because this film is first and foremost “human". All I can do is recommend it for viewing. (03/06/2009)

There are not many cases when I empathized so much with the feelings of the protagonists. Feelings of emptiness, loneliness, sadness, fear, warmth, and love. Bill Murray's mournful gaze has been imprinted on me forever, as well as Scarlett Johansson's gentle face. Beauty that, when in the right mood, equals an absolute experience. (10/27/2005)