The name of my blog refers to one of the film experiences I have had that have created a special place within me, through its aesthetics, philosophy and characters: Lost in Translation by Sofia Coppola. With alienating music such as Squarepusher and Air it presents a leisurely paced visual representation of Tokyo, coming in contact with a foreign culture, and finding solace in the meeting of strangers.
The hotel where the characters stay in, with its bar tables illuminating the night and the people talking next to it, the TV shows in sleepless nights, lying around in bed and talking about such distant and foreign things as home, take the viewer to a timeless world. Full of daily little oddities of the Japanese, and with the focus of two characters approaching each other on a platonic level, it is entertaining, peaceful and deep at the same time.
Bill Murray and Charlotte Johansson make an interesting contrast with their age difference - but in the end, their problems are similar. The other one has not made up her mind what to do, and the other one seems to be alienated from the path he had chosen - illuminating the similarities between teenage and mid-life crisis.
For its philosophical depth, the nuanced and symbolically layered settings, creative camerawork and unusually downtoned yet interesting relationship between a man and a woman, this movie is not only my favourite Western movie taking place in Japan, but one of the best films I have ever seen.
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I'll gladly transfer the post here :) - I have actually, just today, started a blog for my stories, so I can comment through the new account.
VastaaPoistaI enjoy reading your thoughts on the blog, especially since I know and like both "Lost in Translation" and "Spring etc." - although to me the latter was the superior film as far as emotional investment goes...however "Lost in Translation" leaves me with an interesting feeling of joyful melancholy and a number of other interestingly conflicting emotions. I like the laconic way in which the two cultures and generations meet, always just gliding past each other, always missing the "hooks" that might pull them together - which might also be my main point of criticism, since I can lose myself much more in films like "Woman in the Dunes" or "Twilight Samurai" where there is no topic of cultural differences but one is expected to immerse oneself in the culture in order to understand it - then again, I guess "Lost in Translation" is mainly about the inability to lose oneself.
"Spring, Summer..." was more involving to me mainly for its topic of personal guilt and redemption (I found the thoughts about shame and the particularly unsettling effects of Korean horror quite interesting, by the way) - I thought the slow pace really immersed the viewer in the life of the two protagonists and also made the monk's final act very powerful and affecting. I'd recommend Kim Ki Duk's film "Hwal - The Bow" to you, which is more of a parable and has less overt elements of horror (and is a better film that "Spring...", I thought).