Film Analysis
Title: Lost in Translation
Writer & Director: Sofia Coppola
Tagline: Everyone wants to be found
Running Time: 102 minutes
Release Date: 26 December 2003 (Australia)
Aspect Ratio: 1:85 : 1
Main Cast:
Scarlett Johansson - Charlotte
Bill Murray - Bob Harris
Assignment Information:
Student - Leo Nguyen (3559)
Images / Screenshots provided by - Google Images
Information provided by - Internet Movie Database
Word Count: 1,707
Pages: 7
Film Analysis
The Film "Lost in Translation", Written & Directed by Sofia Coppola was shown in theatres in Australia on the 26th December 2003 with a Running time of 102 minutes & with the Tagline "Everyone wants to be found".
The Plot Centres around two characters, A movie star named Bob Harris with a sense of emptiness portrayed by Bill Murray, A neglected newlywed named Charlotte who is trying to find her place in the world portrayed by Scarlett Johansson, Two strangers meet in Tokyo Japan and slowly form an unlikely bond, Both characters are in Japan and do not speak the language fortunately for them friendship needs no translation.
During the course of the film we see two major characters Bob Harris & Charlotte they both interact with each other in the movie and have individual scenes separately, The differences and similarities between the two characters and how they interact with each other is what makes the film interesting.
"Lost in Translation" is a really interesting film to watch as we learn more about both individual characters how they deal with being Alienated in a foreign country, the audience watches as their friendship grows, the story moves away from the theme of loneliness towards companionship and back towards loneliness in the emotional farewell we witness at the end of the film.
The characters:
Bob Harris (Bill Murray): A movie star, Paid $2,000,000 to endorse a brand of whisky called Suntory (as seen in the image below), currently shooting ads and taking photo shoots on set in Tokyo Japan, Occasionally calls his wife to check up on his family during the course of the movie and he has stated that he has been married for awhile. Charlotte notes that she thinks he is experiencing a mid life crisis.
Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson): A neglected newlywed that followed her husband to Tokyo Japan who is actually a photographer, Intellectual & smart Charlotte throughout the course of the movie can be seen to do a lot of soul searching as she is trying to find her place in the world & in life.
Theme(s)
Several themes are covered in the film "Lost in translation", Such as Alienation, Loneliness, Companionship and coming to adjust with culture differences or shocks against the setting of modern Tokyo Japan.
The Theme of Alienation is set early on in the movie when it is clearly established that neither Bob or Charlotte can speak Japanese despite being in Japan, Charlotte admits to a friend of hers through a phone call that she is having problems adjusting , Bob Harris is shown that he has no proficiency in Japanese as a translator is required for his filming on the "Suntory" ad that he is apparently being paid $2,000,000 to endorse.
A Visual symbol of Alienation can be seen when Bob is seen standing in the elevator with other residents of Japan, Notice how he is the tallest man there he stands out (not that it's a bad thing). We can see Bob Harris and the other people in the elevator thanks to the use of a MS (Mid Shot), The use of a Medium Shot here shows some of Bob but more of his surroundings but he remains in the centre this allows us to see the environment around him yet giving us the impression of "Bob" as the Whole Subject.
This scene of Bob when first viewed gives the audience a bit of humour but still makes its point that Bob is "Different", We can identify this by his height difference, he is also dressed a bit less formally as we can see he isn't wearing a tie like the other people in the elevator and the way he is standing giving off a different presence.
Another example can be seen by Charlotte how she is seen in the image above gazing down on the city notice her expression it's not exactly a cheerful one (I would love to live in Japan sadly). We can see both Charlotte and Tokyo's landscape thanks to a MCU (Medium Close Up). The use of a MCU here combines elements of a MS (Mid Shot) & CU (Close Up), which gives us the impression of Charlotte in more detail and her upper body takes up the whole frame so we can see her expression more easily.
The Image above is of Charlotte again but this time in a MS (Mid Shot) this shows us charlotte in more detail in a familiar position gazing down at Tokyo Japan, But this time at night since its darker the use of lighting is used more notice how she is dressed the city is getting darker and she is still wearing opposing colours to contrast herself from the dark city with a white solid top, The lighting is focusing more on her head & face suggesting that she is thinking once again. The lighting gives us a good look at her expression, The expression itself is very similar to the image above this one.
The shots with Charlotte however at the current point in the film we identify that she is "Alone" and trying to find her "place" in the world. The background is in direct contrast with her clothing not in style but in the general sense of colour she is wearing something bright which we can see in the foreground however the city behind her in the background has a darker and grim colour scheme. Her general stance and expression tells us she is gazing outwardly yet thinking inwardly deeply as she seems focused on something.
The background behind her is a busy city while Charlotte herself is frozen in a sense that a busy moving city & a girl staying motionless locked in deep thought contrast each other.
Lighting plays a more obvious role helping the audience identify her expression by making it much more visible in the second image of Charlotte.
In all three of the images above we can tell that Bob Harris & Charlotte have something in common they are both "Alone" in a sense.
The Final Farewell
The final scene in the movie begins with Bob Harris leaving Japan and making his way home to his family he is being escorted outside of the hotel by the staff, a few things happen during this finale a fan is star struck to be seeing Bob Harris at the hotel, Bob while initially fond to meet a fan has something else on his mind. That something else is his friend Charlotte and the thoughts of why she isn't down stairs to say goodbye to him.
The Finale progresses and Bob Harris is being driven to the airport he spots Charlotte and asks his driver to stop the car for him as he will be right back shortly.
Bob makes his way towards Charlotte and turns her around (seen in the image below) they establish eye contact the shot used in the image is called a Two-shot. The "Two-shot" framed almost exactly like a mid shot but with two people, through the use of a "Two-shot" we can establish that both the main characters are on screen and neither one is more important than the other.
The shot above has both Bob Harris & Charlotte as stated above they establish eye contact, This is the final time the audience will see both Bob Harris & Charlotte together as they begin to exchange words they are both greatly happy to see each other one last time and both sad as this is a "farewell" to a friend from each characters perspective.
Initially the two main characters who were strangers to each other, Both characters trying to deal with being in a foreign country become friends, Two alienated individuals living in a foreign country find peace in each other's company establishing the theme companionship and move away from the theme of loneliness only to move back into loneliness in the end however in the end both characters in a sense "Grow", the audience is treated to a emotional farewell in the finale.
In the image above Bob Harris hugs / holds Charlotte a CU (close up) is used in this frame Charlottes eyes are exposed into greater detail for the audience to see. In this scene Bob Harris whispers something that the audience cannot hear despite having a very close "visual" but a almost silent "audio" what bob says to Charlotte cannot be heard clearly.
This leaves the audience wondering what Bob Harris said to Charlotte as the audience can not hear it clearly from this point it is up to the Audience to interpret what Bob said to her. We do however get to see that Charlottes eyes slowly turn red and watery so it must have been something personal the audience is given that much information at least.
The audience has witnessed two complete strangers with their own different and similar problems come together and become friends and find peace in each other's company taking their mind off the feeling of "Alienation" of being in Japan. Both characters eventually grow and learn how to deal & coupe with their respective problems of loneliness just from being with each other . Both characters developed throughout the story and course of the film but at the end of the movie the characters go their separate ways as Bob Harris has to leave and Charlotte is stuck in Tokyo Japan for a little while longer.
we started off with the theme of loneliness moved onto the theme of companionship and at the end we go back to loneliness as the two characters go their separate ways.
The writer & director Sophia Coppola is truly talented being able compose such a story and being able to transfer the same story from text to video.
Thank you for reading my first film Analysis I hope it wasn't too bad but I'm not feeling very confident about it! haha take care of yourself guys hope to see you around the campus of AIT =).
Leo
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