neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Lost In Translation
	Sofia Coppola Bill Murray, Scarlett Johansson, Giovanni Ribisi, Anna Faris 2003		In a quantum leap beyond the showy mix of otherworldly fable and teen angst that made her first feature film "The Virgin Suicides" a satisfactory debut, writer/director Sofia Coppola conceived "Lost in Translation." It's an unlikely romantic comedy that reveals Coppola to be one of the most thoughtful, original filmmakers now working in the medium. Bill Murray, master of zaniness and glib diffidence, gives a charming, nuanced performance as Bob, a fading Hollywood star who's in Tokyo to do a Japanese whisky commercial. Jet-lagged and trying to forget his cheerless marriage, he can't sleep. He leaves his suite to drink in the hotel piano bar, where he meets Charlotte, young American wife of a photographer with a local assignment. On her own while her husband works, Charlotte is drawn to Bob. They amuse themselves in restaurants, arcades and karaoke bars, and begin to share something deeper. In her first truly adult role after various ingenue parts, Scarlett Johansson brings curiosity, grace and blooming womanhood to Charlotte. "Lost in Translation" has the subtlety and astute social perceptions of a film by a mature director such as Altman or Rohmer — and all the whimsy Murray can muster.