100 Movies in 2020: # 15, Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation is a story about an unlikely relationship between a faded movie star who comes to Japan to make liquor ads and a young woman accompanying her photographer husband on a business trip. In this film, writer and director Sofia Coppola gives a masterclass in the beauty of restraint.
- Release: 2003
- Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Bill Murray
- Directed by: Sofia Coppola
- Screenplay: Sofia Coppola (Oscar winner, Best Original Screenplay)
- Spoilers? Yes.
It’s not a plot-heavy movie. Like another of my favorite movies, it’s told in a series of snapshots, alternating between the characters as they search for connection to something that will restore a feeling of wholeness.
Synopsis
Both Bob (Murray) and Charlotte (Johansson) are married, but both find themselves alone and dissatisfied. Both characters lack a sense of direction. Charlotte is young and doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, and Bob finds himself at a midlife crossroads where both his work and his family life fail to satisfy him.
Early in the story, each character digs inside themselves to deal with their sense of emptiness. Bob copes with the absurdity of receiving poorly translated direction for his ad jobs by cracking jokes only he can understand. Charlotte, married for only two years but already estranged from her husband, visits temples and listens to self-help audiobooks to gain insight. As both struggle with insomnia, they eventually meet in the hotel bar. Over the course of the week, their relationship grows increasingly intimate as they bond over their struggles and kindle a sense of play while they explore the city.
What the movie gets so right is the warm sense of excitement as one slowly discovers a new partner. The story unfolds with great restraint and subtlety. Tension exists between Bob and Charlotte, but it’s a warm ember, not a raging fire. It’s unclear whether the relationship will become a romance or a friendship, or a blend of both.
Withholding the expected
By withholding the expected sexual relationship between the characters, Coppola focuses our attention on the characters’ emotional journeys toward fulfillment. One of the sweetest moments of the film occurs near the end, when they’ve had a disagreement and share an elevator ride up to their respective rooms after a fire alarm. They kiss goodnight with a peck on the cheek. It feels like the culmination of the relationship and it’s all the more poignant because it is so chaste.
The beautifully restrained final scene
Speaking of withholding things, the film is famous for its final scene. As the two say goodbye in a busy Toyko street, Bob whispers something in Charlotte’s ear. It’s more than just a brief “goodbye” or “I’ll miss you.” We don’t know what he says (after the film’s release, reporters asked Johansson what it was Murray said, and Johansson declined to answer). This mystery engages the audience’s imagination, encouraging us to ponder what it might have been. There are some theories on YouTube, but if you ask me, the story is more enchanting if the question’s left unanswered.
Writing lessons from Lost in Translation
Less is more.
Although throughout the week Bob and Charlotte grow increasingly close, they never consummate the relationship. Coppola resists the temptation to give the audience what they expect. This restraint makes the relationship more tantalizing, and the ending more bittersweet.
Leave a mystery.
Give the audience something to imagine as the story closes. Letting them write a tiny piece of the story gives them a subtle stake in it that endears the work to them.
