"Lost in Translation" Maybe the Worst Movie I've Seen

[Beetwasher]

in a very long time. I want my money back. Thankfully, it was relatively short. It was possibly the slowest, most boring, nothing of a film I've ever seen. There was nothing there, nothing happened, and the story was practically non-existent. What was the point?

Sofia Coppola wrote and directed this film. She can't act, who told here she could write and direct?

[soleft]

1. I was very disappointed, I didn't hate it,but after the reviews I expected

more. Even from Bill Murray.

you were too aware of her director's eye - I kept thinking - Coppola really likes this scenery so she's going to make us look at too.

[Beetwasher]

5. The only somewhat redeeming factor

was some of the cinematography. But you know what? Even that wasn't all that stunning...

[el_gato]

2. I thought it was a great film

very subtle and understated and that made it all the more powerful
but if your looking for sex and car chases and over the top melodrama you would be disappointed.

[Beetwasher]

7. It was so subtle that there was nothing there

I can appreciate subtlety, but this was ridiculous. I mean nothing happened, and alot of things made no sense. The characters were hardly developed at all so you couldn't even connect with them emotionally in any way. I found myself disliking the characters actually because they were not developed well enough...

[soleft]

13. About Schmidt was subtle - The Straight Story was subtle

both of those films had very sweet and deeply felt payoffs.

The bit with the mystery whisper in the ear - didn't do it for me.

[Beetwasher]

14. The Mystery Whisper

This film was such a big nothing, that in fact, the "whisper" is not much of a mystery, because a. I don't care what he said and b. being in line w/ the rest of the movie, it was probably someting banal like "don't worry, everything will be fine"

"About Schmidt" is a great example of a recent movie that worked trying to do a similar thing....

[Love Bug]

3. Yikes, did we see the same movie?

I loved it--maybe that was because I knew nothing about it when I saw it. I don't know what your expectations were, but I don't think the marketing campaign is fair--the ads make it look like a comedy, which it is not.

[THUNDER HANDS]

4. my grandmother said it was awful

And I trust her judegement, she loved Freddy v. Jason.

:)

[_Wayne_]

6. I thought it was brilliant

There wasn't much of a plot in Lost in Translation, and this on purpose. Character-driven movies do not bog you down in plot point after plot point. Rather, we watch the characters develop, and analyze their intentions, actions, and responses. Murray and Johansson gave us a lot to think about; is a plutonic relationship possible between an older man and younger woman? were they in love? did they have sex? what did he whisper to her at the end?

The movie moved along at a good pace, and kept the audience guessing. The Japanese background, the bright city lights, the cultural nuances added depth and flavor to this simple story. Lost In Translation rode on the back of its stars, and without Murray and Johansson, it may not have worked. But it did, wonderfully.

[Beetwasher]

8. Bleh

There was no character development IMO and therefore there was no emotional attachment or any way to understand the motivations of the characters at all..How can you analyze the characters when they're not developed? How do you develop characters w/ hardly any dialogue and hardly anything happening? Again, bleh...

[el_gato]

9. the character development was there

but for those people desensitized by over the top garbage
that come from hollywood it was very understated.

there was no screaming and yelling
there were no gunshots
there were no rediculous and unbelievable plot twists
just a simple study of two people who feel alienated and
found temporary solace in each others company.

I thought the scene with them laying in bed talking and
she had her feet resting against his side was enough.
A sex scene would have cheapened the movie.

[Beetwasher]

11. Understated is

fine as far as I'm concerned. This was understated to the point of non-existence though.

I like and appreciate subtle films, if they're done well. IMO, this was not done well...I never said there should be a sex scene, nor did I imply it. I just think that a movie (even if it's a character study like this film is supposed to be) should actually have a story and some sort of a plot and stuff should actually happen. There was nothing driving this movie. There was not enough character development to explain anything about any of the motivations of the two main characters or to even begin analyzing anything about the movie. Maybe there were clues dropped, but if so, they were so subtle that I didn't pick them up and I'm certainly not going to watch the film again to get it.

I'm glad you liked it, but I felt I wasted my time...

[_Wayne_]

10. That's just it

We didn't need much dialogue or "anything happening" to get where the movie wanted to take us. This was a dramatic comedy, and there were funny moments, so we can't hold it to both standards like we would a pure comedy or pure drama, ie, it must make me laugh, and it must enlighten and move me- Lost in Translation did a little bit of both, and did them well given the storyline. In a dramatic comedy, there isn't traditional character development; and the best dramatic comedy films work when there's a basic story with an interesting backdrop and good acting.

And besides, we don't need tons of dialogue to understand characters; the best acting is done by speaking without speaking, by body language, facial expressions. Lost In Translation provided the actors who could do this.

[Beetwasher]

12. I guess it's just not my thing

I can appreciate a good subtle, character driven film. IMO, this was not one...I understand completely what they were trying to accomplish. They didn't pull it off IMO. They only managed to bore me completely. I was totally uninterested in the characters, no matter how good the performances were...If the people in the theatre I went to were any indication, I wasn't alone. I never saw so many fidgety bored people. Several people walked out and several others I saw were playing with their cell phones and what not. A good character driven film, or a character study, as this film was supposed to be, should in compel you to be interested in the characters. I wasn't interested in these people at all...It failed to be compelling or interesting in any way, IMO.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. As a Japanese translator

my main concern is whether the Japanese location is used to good effect, or whether the story could just as easily have taken place in Bangkok or Tel Aviv, or any other place where the street signs are in a different writing system.

By the way, there was a book called Lost in Translation that is completely unrelated to the movie. It's about an American woman working as a translator and interpreter in China who helps an archeological expedition.

[Beetwasher]

16. My Girlfriend is Japanese

and I took her to see this movie and she also didn't like it.

You are correct, while the Japanese setting was good for a couple of slightly amusing moments, it was essentially wasted. Most of the film took place indoors.