Lost in Translation

Sorry about the lack of updates :p I have actually sat down each day to update. Today I feel like I could actually write about something though. Blame writer's block, rather than apathy, if you will. John and I watched Lost in Translation tonight. This morning? Midnight to two o'clock. I think we both really liked it. It's a really low-key sort of thing though. It has something to say.... I'm not quite decided on what I think that is though. I'm sure most of the people reading this are somewhat familiar with the premise. Two people feeling somewhat estranged from their lives and loves end up in a hotel in 東京。Er. Tokyo. One is Bob Harris, a somewhat over-the-hill actor doing commercial shoots for a brand of whiskey. The other is Charlotte [didn't catch a last name] who is in Tokyo with her husband who is too busy at work to realize that she's not very happy there. They meet, and talk, and do some things together. Then they leave. That's pretty much the plot of the film. Where it gets cool is all in the details. The movie really manages to drive home a feeling of alienation. Tokyo is full of bright lights and bizarre unexplained social customs and strange foods. Well-wishers every five feet who can say "Welcome, Mr. Harris" and "Nice to see you!" but who can't actually explain what the hell is going on. Incidentally, every time some person said "Hello, Mr. Harris" in a Japanese accent I was forcefully reminded of the islanders speaking to the Token White Guy in Johnny Lingo. Ah, yes, Mr. Harris - Johnny Lingo is the shrewdest trader in all the islands! Or something like that. The movie is full of powerful imagery that evokes many emotions. Loneliness. Tension. Claustrophobia. Just... good cinematography. Those of you who haven't seen it need to come over and watch it - the DVD lives here now, so it's available. Hmmm. I'm having a hard time getting across what makes this movie so good. It's about two people coming together to reevaluate what they're doing in life. Helping each other take a fresh look at things. I think. It's hardly a cheerful pollyana of a tale. In a lesser story it would be a romance, where they both drop their spouses for a fling across Tokyo. There is some romantic tension, but the relationship is hardly so easily defined. I did really enjoy seeing Tokyo through the eyes of someone utterly bewildered by the city. I have yet to see the city myself. (Actually I have yet to see any place beyond my own nation's borders, which saddens me. Someday I will do some serious travelling. ) But I've read so much about Tokyo and Japan that I like to think that I'd manage fairly well were I to visit. I found it interesting that while I felt the alienation along with the characters in the film, the alienating events would not have hit me as such - I've read enough gaijin in Japan stories to be familiar with the more famous or common pitfalls people experience. I guess that this sympathy-despite-greater-knowledge is an indication that the film is well-constructed. I like this film because, like the velveteen rabbit, these characters are real. So go see it, everyone! Or come see it! I want to hear what other people think about this one!