Lost in Translation blew me away the first time I saw it. When I was thinking about this post I realised it is now ten years old which means I saw it when I was 16. I honestly couldn't get over the fact that it's ten years old. I saw it with my friend from school one afternoon back in 2003 when I was in fourth year and we were meant to be at a college open day. I can't remember if we went or not and then saw the film after, but watching the film it's one of those amazing cinematic moments that I can just remember so clearly.
I think what made me fall in love with the film was that despite no real similarities to the lives of Bob and Charlotte, I could relate to how they were feeling, both at a crossroads/crisis in their lives where they didn't know what do to next, or where they stood in their lives, in regards to their respective careers and relationships. I was having trouble in school at the time and was having a bad year with friends who had abandoned me and teachers who didn't know whether to treat me like a child or an adult. I was deciding what I wanted to do in college and with my life really and for those reasons the film resonated with me.
It's my favourite performance by both Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson and my favourite Sofia Coppola film. I love the look of the film, the colours, how it looks like a series of postcards from Tokyo (apparently Sofia Coppola actually based a lot of the shots on photos taken in Tokyo). I was reminded of Lost in Translation when I watched Drive for the first time and how there isn't that much dialogue but the actors demonstrate the character's growing relationship through body language and facial expressions. There is something about those kinds of relationships in films that I just adore.
Just look at Bill Murray's face in some of the shots, he is such an underrated actor. I love this performance.
It was difficult to choose my favourite shots from this film because honestly I love the whole thing. If I was to ever to have made a film, I would have wanted it to be Lost in Translation, more than any other film I love.
Have you seen Lost in Translation? Do you like it? What films did you relate to in your teenage years?
If you liked this post, you can read my first two on Wizard of Oz and Gattaca.
Emma x
