Last week I bought two DVDs: Lost In Translation and Under The Tuscan Sun. Last weekend I watched Under The Tuscan Sun. It was a very good movie. Diane Lane is a great actress. I think she should get bigger and better roles. The scenery of Italy was breathtaking. The story was well written and filmed well. I highly suggest this movie.
This morning I had a chance to watch Lost In Translation. One thing I’ve learned from reading reviews and hearing from others who have seen it, you either hate it or you love it. I loved it. It’s about an older actor and young married woman who find themselves in Tokoyo. The actor (Bill Murray) is there filming TV commercials for a Japanese Whiskey. He’s left his wife and children back in the states while he’s doing this job. The young married woman (Scarleett Johansson, who I saw in Girl With a Pearl Earring and loved! ) is there with her husband. Her husband is a photographer there to photograph rock bands. They both find themselves with lots of time to spend in Tokoyo. They both have insomnia and meet at the hotel bar late at night. Slowly the develop a relationship and gets stronger and stronger over the time they are there. I think they are only there for a week or so. It seems that their friendship develops awfully fast but I think friendships can develop that fast in real life. Since they have things in common at the time, it makes it easier for them to build a relationship. At times you wonder why they are doing the things they are doing but it all comes together. From drinking in the hotel bar, going out on the town, hanging out in their rooms, Sofia Coppola (who won and her first Oscar for writing this movie) does a fine job of weaving the instances together for these two to build a relationship. The humor in the movie is very subtle but well done. The funniest scene is when Bill Murray is in an elevator surrounded by Japanese business men. The towers over them all. He’s at least one and a half heads taller then all those who surround him. Another great scene is when he gets in the shower and the shower head is considerably lower then it should be for an average height male. Of course this humor plays on the stereotype that all asian men are shorter then average white Americans but it was funny none the less. Both characters seem to be stuck in lives neither enjoys. But they seem to overcome this while developing their relationship. The film leaves you believing they will both be alright and one day be happy. I really enjoyed this movie. If you haven’t seen it, I suggest you do. Rent or buy it. It’s worth it.
