Lost In Translation

Image by David Mark from Pixabay

The movie, Lost In Translation, is a cinematic masterpiece. Perfectly paced, thoughtfully crafted and backed by the perfect soundtrack, it explores the idea of human connection, isolation and meaning in a way that is real and emotive without being cliched or preachy. 

So much of how we experience in the movie - specifically how we interpret those scenes - is up to us. The karaoke scene with Bob (Bill Murray) singing More Than This. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) chancing upon a geisha on a trip outside of Tokyo. The conversation between the two as they lay side by side in bed during yet another jet lagged night. The bathtub scene of Bob speaking with his wife. 

That’s what I love most about the film. It doesn’t tell you. It lets you experience and then decide for yourself, based on how you interpret it. 

Because, at the end of the day, our view (and verdict) of their brief life together, and by extension, our view of our life and ourselves, is colored by the filters we put on. The experiences we’ve had and those we still hold on to. The ones we’ve cherished and the ones we’d thought we’d forgotten. 

The point is, we decide. And whatever we decide, we’re not wrong -  because it’s our take. We make of these things what we will. We take from it what we want, or we don’t. 

Like much of life, that’s frustrating and beautiful. As much as we struggle for answers and clarity, the fact is that that’s for us to fashion. We may not be able to control what actually happens to us, but we absolutely do with regards how we react to it. 

And nowhere is that encapsulated better than in the final scene, as the couple share one final, almost by chance, embrace and Bob whispers something - a few words, barely audible, not quite discernible - into Charlotte’s ear. 

No one but the two of them know what he said, not even Sofia Coppola, the director of the film, because it was ad-libbed by Murray on the spot. Asked what he said, Murray declined to say, only that it was between lovers. 

Let’s leave it at that.