Lost in Translation Review

*Spoilers Ahead*

As the credits rolled, I found myself with this looming, sinking feeling. It was extremely bittersweet in the themes it presented but was tied together in a way that made sense. It scoffed in the face of traditionalism in romance and became a much more meditative experience for me. I’m completely stunned at how much I loved this movie. It is a visually and emotionally entrancing movie I couldn’t stop thinking about long after the credits.

There were a few big takeaways I gathered from this film but I think the ending is the one that left people puzzled. What did Bob (Bill Murray) say to Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) at the end of the movie? Even though I didn’t quite hear it, I don’t think it really matters in the grand idea of the film. Ultimately, Lost in Translation is a movie about aimlessness and loneliness. Charlotte is a character in a new setting who is lonely because the people she cares about aren’t there for her. Her boyfriend John (Giovanni Ribisi) is neglectful and lacks compassion for Charlotte. As the people around her become more distant, she becomes disoriented by life, confused and lost in a literal and figurative sense. What does she do for a career if her passions are fleeting? Does love become easier with time or is it always destined to struggle? No matter how many self-help CDs she devours, there are never-ending reminders of her emptiness. All she could ask for is an escape.

Although Bob is also a fish out of water like Charlotte, his loneliness is present, even in a room surrounded by people giving him attention. It becomes glaringly obvious that, even with the barrage of eyes on him, he is unfulfilled. There’s a trivial pointlessness to anything that he does. Whether it’s the on-the-rocks, fragile marriage with his wife, the dying relationship with his kids due to a frequent, distant work schedule, or the work itself causing needless strife and frustration, Bob Harris is a weary, exhausted character in the midst of a mental midlife crisis. All he could ask for is an escape. That’s where he crosses paths with Charlotte.