Lost in Translation (2003)

Director:

Sofia Coppola

Writer (WGA):

Sofia Coppola (written by)

Release Date:

3 October 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Everyone wants to be found.

Plot:

A movie star with a sense of emptiness, and a neglected newlywed meet up as strangers in Tokyo, Japan and form an unlikely bond.

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Commercial | Translation | Japan | Hotel

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 70 wins & 59 nominations

Cast

Scarlett Johansson	...	Charlotte
Bill Murray	...	Bob Harris
Akiko Takeshita	...	Ms. Kawasaki
Kazuyoshi Minamimagoe	...	Press Agent
Kazuko Shibata	...	Press Agent
Take	...	Press Agent
Ryuichiro Baba	...	Concierge
Akira Yamaguchi	...	Bellboy
Catherine Lambert	...	Jazz Singer
François du Bois	...	Sausalito Piano (as Francois du Bois)
Tim Leffman	...	Sausalito Guitar
Gregory Pekar	...	American Businessman #1
Richard Allen	...	American Businessman #2
Giovanni Ribisi	...	John
Diamond Yukai	...	Commercial Director (as Yutaka Tadokoro)

Also Known As:

Perdidos en Tokio (Argentina) (Panama) (Peru) [es]
Avoodim B'Tokyo (Israel: Hebrew title) [iw]
Bir konusabilse... (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Elveszett jelentés (Hungary) [hu]
Encontros E Desencontros (Brazil) [pt]
Hamenoi sti metafrasi (Greece) [el]
Lost in Translation (Finland) [fi]
Lost in Translation (France) [fr]
Lost in Translation (Spain) [es]
Lost in Translation - L'amore tradotto (Italy) [it]
Lost in Translation - Zwischen den Welten (Germany) [de]
Miedzy slowami (Poland) [pl]
O Amor É um Lugar Estranho (Portugal) [pt]
Stratené v preklade (Slovakia) [sk]
Tõlkes kaduma läinud (Estonia) [et]
Targmanshi dakargulni (Georgia) [ka]
Traduction infidèle (Canada: French title) [fr]
Trudnosti perevoda (Russia) [ru]
Ztraceno v prekladu (Czech Republic) [cs]

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content.

Runtime:

102 min

Country:

USA | Japan

Language:

English | Japanese | German | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Indonesia:Dewasa | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Malaysia:18PL (re-rating) | Malaysia:(Banned) (uncut version) | Iceland:L | Hungary:14 | Greece:K | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:G (Québec) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Italy:T | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:PG | Norway:A | Peru:PT | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Singapore:R(A) (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Heian Shrine, Kyoto, Japan

Company:

Focus Features

Trivia:

In 1999, Bill Murray replaced his talent agency with an automated voice mailbox that can be reached with an 800 number he gives out sparingly. Sofia Coppola reportedly left hundreds of messages on Murray's mailbox before he finally called back to discuss her offer to cast him as the star.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the sushi restaurant, Charlotte's chopsticks repeatedly disappear and reappear between shots.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ms. Kawasaki: Welcome to Tokyo.
Bob: Thank you very much.
Ms. Kawasaki: My name is Kawasaki. Nice to meet you.
Bob: I've heard of you. Thank you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ut (2005)

Soundtrack:

Minuetto

Sometimes the simplest stories make the best films

I went through an array of emotions and expressions watching this film; most of them centred around how bizarre I thought it was, yet it was like a good book I simply couldn't put down even if the film itself lived up to its title at times.

This is by far the best work Bill Murray has done, and it will be a pleasant surprise for many to see him find a new (to me, anyway) side to his ability as an actor. He captures the role with such precision that you don't realise this is the same guy who, dare I even mention it in the same breath, provided the voice of Garfield last year. You see a few traces of his characteristic smugness every once in a while, but by and large the Bill Murray you see is a lot more serious... and seriously damned good.

It's such a simple story... unhappy married man meets unhappy married woman in a place neither of them are familiar with, and suddenly realise that they're all the other has got at least for the time being. In an age where Hollywood is trying (mostly unsuccessfully) to scare and shock us with something new at every turn, Sofia Coppola takes what should be the premise for a typical chick flick and turns it into something that anyone who has ever experienced an emotion of any description can watch and appreciate.

A brilliant film in any language.