I maintain that, whether you're in a bad mood or not, one of the absolute best things to do for entertainment is to go and read comments under IMDb "Hated It" for your favorite movies. This is hilarious. Especially if Lost in Translation ranks up there among your favorite movies, as the criticism for this movie is so misguided. Because I have no life (I head off to Spain in a little less than a week for study abroad, whee, but I've got nothing to do until then) I collected stuff from just the first 7 pages... oh, the hilarity.
What actually happens? I had a day like this 3 weeks ago.
that's kind of the point of the movie
It reminded me of the worst excesses of 60's French New Wave. Long stretches of people staring. Long stretches of silence and monosyllables. More long stretches of loud noise and incomprehensible voices. Short cut-in scenes that advanced the story (what there was of it) and characters not a bit.
they're really not that bad. if you saw all that much french new wave, you should easily be able to deal with lost in translation.
Can I believe in a young woman who's supposed to be a recent philosophy graduate of Yale, who can't think of anything to do with her time but stare out the window of her expensive hotel?
sure you can. my boyfriend just graduated, and he totally connects to just... despite the fact that he's gotten a great education and he's got a job and what not, he just feels lost. I can't put that feeling in more articulate words. but most recent college graduates, even those that have jobs and whatnot, feel more than a little lost sometimes.
You're in a different country - go out, go sightseeing, try the local food, go shopping, learn about the country, or even go and spend the day at the hotel pool, reading a good book - don't sit there feeling sorry for yourself and look for someone to cheat with.
errr... they do all that. a lot.
Bill Murray looks utterly lost as if he has not been paid his salary for playing the part in the film.
um, that's kinda the point of his performance
directed with bland nothingness by a girl who, had she had different parents, nobody would blink twice about.
oh how i love this criticism. it's so legitimate.
The film shows two Americans having trouble relating to Japanese culture, perhaps this is because Japan IS A DIFFERENT CULTURE!!!! This film could have taken place in any country that doesn't speak English and the same feeling of isolation would have been prevalant.
well, yeah. that's one of the strengths of the film - it's so specific and personal yet feels like it could apply to anyone. look, i'm not saying i don't like it more because i do feel a connection to it, at times. but the fact that it works on both those levels is a miracle.
And by the way I went to Yale myself so there!
good for you. (go harvard)
I challenge somebody to find any shot in this movie of a japanese person (or perhaps apes in japanese costumes) who isn't acting silly or over the top, as part of a joke, a joke in which the japanese are the being punched by the line.
there are plenty, like the woman who tries to help charlotte with the flowers. the film treads the line with those L-R jokes, but it manages to err on the side of good taste. other than that? charlotte and bill are different. that's the point. they see things differently. i bet there could be a companion movie from the point of view of charlotte's japanese friends, in which charlotte and bob would look like bumbling fools.
This film just further proves that I simply do not understand film critics. Lost in Translation is horrible. What exactly is this thing supposed to be about? Nothing happens. The characters do not develop, change, or even engage in anything relatively interesting. I don't need a movie to enjoy a "snippet of life", all I have to do is look around me.
THE POINT.
Having two leads who speak English, but cant be bothered to say anything because there so depressed is ridiculous.
they don't say anything...?
If anyone here thinks that Godfather C's daughter isn't going to have all of hollywood praising her (whether she makes a good movie or not), they need to go see Tony Soprano's shrink. This praise that's sweeping the country is purely political to make the old man happy. I'm sure he has the power in tinseltown to make anybody have a bad day.
again, i just love this criticism. it's even better when applied to marie-antoinette.
That's my first major criticism of the movie; it settles into itself to a point where after a while you forget you're watching a movie, and it just seems like you're simply watching a fish bowl with two people in it; and although this is good in terms of realism, and I don't doubt that Sofia intended it that way; movies are supposed to be an escape from reality, and although some people would disagree; movies are also meant to be entertaining, and I for one don't watch movies to not be entertained; Lost in Translation fails in both of those respects.
for one thing, i don't really understand what this person is going on about, but if what i think is correct... well, yes. movies can be an escape from reality. but sometimes, movies try to emulate reality. that was lost in translation's goal, and it totally succeeded. as far as entertaining, well, that's everyone's own point-of-view, but i sure as hell thought it was.
And she, wandering around in her philosophical haze, could have come up with something more dramatic than visiting a Buddhist temple a couple times. How about a suicide attempt? A big fight with her husband when he's sucking up to the hot, blonde starlet? Something, anything!
the point of the movie isn't BIG EMOTIONS!!!!!, at least not in the usual oscarish way. yeah, these characters have strong feelings, but they deal with them in a totally normal way. people hold in their anger every day. people feel unsatisfied but certainly not depressed enough to commit suicide every day. arguments like this only add to lost in translation's strength.
Can't understand the enthusiasm for this boring travel log.I like Bill Murry in other films 'Ground Hog Day" ect. but this was so boring, watching someone pick his nose and comb his hair in a hotel room was, well, just too little. snore
a. again, THE POINT.
b. did he even do either of those?
I feel Sofia went above and beyond to make herself look like a victim when in fact she made herself look like an overly-sensitive snooty ivy leaguer whose problems are dwarfed by the average person's. "Oh no, I graduated from Yale but don't know what I want to do so I'll just follow my rich and successful husband to Japan and hang out there." Yeah, try getting laid off from your job and having to go home to your wife and kids. Try losing a loved one to a drunk driving accident. Try working two jobs to put yourself through community college. There are so many greater things to be upset about, but you don't see these people grasping for sympathy.
uh... sofia is never trying to say "what's happening to the protagonists in this movie is the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to a person." they don't even think it is, they're just not happy where they are. does this make them seem a little self-centered at times? yes, but it also helps in character development. it makes them (far) more realistic as people to not be happy perfect little chipmunks.
how on earth Copolla won Best Original Screenplay for a film without dialogue is beyond me
i think you should exaggerate some more
What actually happens? I had a day like this 3 weeks ago.
that's kind of the point of the movie
It reminded me of the worst excesses of 60's French New Wave. Long stretches of people staring. Long stretches of silence and monosyllables. More long stretches of loud noise and incomprehensible voices. Short cut-in scenes that advanced the story (what there was of it) and characters not a bit.
they're really not that bad. if you saw all that much french new wave, you should easily be able to deal with lost in translation.
Can I believe in a young woman who's supposed to be a recent philosophy graduate of Yale, who can't think of anything to do with her time but stare out the window of her expensive hotel?
sure you can. my boyfriend just graduated, and he totally connects to just... despite the fact that he's gotten a great education and he's got a job and what not, he just feels lost. I can't put that feeling in more articulate words. but most recent college graduates, even those that have jobs and whatnot, feel more than a little lost sometimes.
You're in a different country - go out, go sightseeing, try the local food, go shopping, learn about the country, or even go and spend the day at the hotel pool, reading a good book - don't sit there feeling sorry for yourself and look for someone to cheat with.
errr... they do all that. a lot.
Bill Murray looks utterly lost as if he has not been paid his salary for playing the part in the film.
um, that's kinda the point of his performance
directed with bland nothingness by a girl who, had she had different parents, nobody would blink twice about.
oh how i love this criticism. it's so legitimate.
The film shows two Americans having trouble relating to Japanese culture, perhaps this is because Japan IS A DIFFERENT CULTURE!!!! This film could have taken place in any country that doesn't speak English and the same feeling of isolation would have been prevalant.
well, yeah. that's one of the strengths of the film - it's so specific and personal yet feels like it could apply to anyone. look, i'm not saying i don't like it more because i do feel a connection to it, at times. but the fact that it works on both those levels is a miracle.
And by the way I went to Yale myself so there!
good for you. (go harvard)
I challenge somebody to find any shot in this movie of a japanese person (or perhaps apes in japanese costumes) who isn't acting silly or over the top, as part of a joke, a joke in which the japanese are the being punched by the line.
there are plenty, like the woman who tries to help charlotte with the flowers. the film treads the line with those L-R jokes, but it manages to err on the side of good taste. other than that? charlotte and bill are different. that's the point. they see things differently. i bet there could be a companion movie from the point of view of charlotte's japanese friends, in which charlotte and bob would look like bumbling fools.
This film just further proves that I simply do not understand film critics. Lost in Translation is horrible. What exactly is this thing supposed to be about? Nothing happens. The characters do not develop, change, or even engage in anything relatively interesting. I don't need a movie to enjoy a "snippet of life", all I have to do is look around me.
THE POINT.
Having two leads who speak English, but cant be bothered to say anything because there so depressed is ridiculous.
they don't say anything...?
If anyone here thinks that Godfather C's daughter isn't going to have all of hollywood praising her (whether she makes a good movie or not), they need to go see Tony Soprano's shrink. This praise that's sweeping the country is purely political to make the old man happy. I'm sure he has the power in tinseltown to make anybody have a bad day.
again, i just love this criticism. it's even better when applied to marie-antoinette.
That's my first major criticism of the movie; it settles into itself to a point where after a while you forget you're watching a movie, and it just seems like you're simply watching a fish bowl with two people in it; and although this is good in terms of realism, and I don't doubt that Sofia intended it that way; movies are supposed to be an escape from reality, and although some people would disagree; movies are also meant to be entertaining, and I for one don't watch movies to not be entertained; Lost in Translation fails in both of those respects.
for one thing, i don't really understand what this person is going on about, but if what i think is correct... well, yes. movies can be an escape from reality. but sometimes, movies try to emulate reality. that was lost in translation's goal, and it totally succeeded. as far as entertaining, well, that's everyone's own point-of-view, but i sure as hell thought it was.
And she, wandering around in her philosophical haze, could have come up with something more dramatic than visiting a Buddhist temple a couple times. How about a suicide attempt? A big fight with her husband when he's sucking up to the hot, blonde starlet? Something, anything!
the point of the movie isn't BIG EMOTIONS!!!!!, at least not in the usual oscarish way. yeah, these characters have strong feelings, but they deal with them in a totally normal way. people hold in their anger every day. people feel unsatisfied but certainly not depressed enough to commit suicide every day. arguments like this only add to lost in translation's strength.
Can't understand the enthusiasm for this boring travel log.I like Bill Murry in other films 'Ground Hog Day" ect. but this was so boring, watching someone pick his nose and comb his hair in a hotel room was, well, just too little. snore
a. again, THE POINT.
b. did he even do either of those?
I feel Sofia went above and beyond to make herself look like a victim when in fact she made herself look like an overly-sensitive snooty ivy leaguer whose problems are dwarfed by the average person's. "Oh no, I graduated from Yale but don't know what I want to do so I'll just follow my rich and successful husband to Japan and hang out there." Yeah, try getting laid off from your job and having to go home to your wife and kids. Try losing a loved one to a drunk driving accident. Try working two jobs to put yourself through community college. There are so many greater things to be upset about, but you don't see these people grasping for sympathy.
uh... sofia is never trying to say "what's happening to the protagonists in this movie is the absolute worst thing that could ever happen to a person." they don't even think it is, they're just not happy where they are. does this make them seem a little self-centered at times? yes, but it also helps in character development. it makes them (far) more realistic as people to not be happy perfect little chipmunks.
how on earth Copolla won Best Original Screenplay for a film without dialogue is beyond me
i think you should exaggerate some more
