I cant stop thinking about Lost In Translation

[Blissbomb]

Im in trouble, I watched the DVD five days ago and I feel different after watching Lost In Translation. My mind always seems to be elsewhere. I tried to watch another old favourite movie last night and I felt nothing, I have become numb. I have always wanted to make my own movie, but I dont want to now, I could never do better than Lost In Translation. Everything I do since watching LIT seems trivial and meaningless? Has this movie affected anyone else like this?

[phillygalinutah]

Yes, join the club

This movie did indeed generate an intensity of feelings from moviegoers, and it reflects why almost a year after the LIT release why individuals are seeking internet boards like this to discuss LIT and their feelings.

When I first saw this movie, I, too, left feeling disoriented and sad, but not fully sure why. There was so much imagery to absorb. .

I purchased the DVD, and watched it several more times (and many more times since!), and each time understood better, and felt their final scene parting helped both characters have a renewed vitality in themselves and faith to improve their relationships with their spouses and others in their own lives back home. And maybe that's why LIT has such an emotional effect on some people. We recognize Charlotte, Bob, or their spouses in ourselves, and that we each have an accountability in how strong or weak our relationships are with those closest to us.

Don't give up on yourself; you'll figure it out and move forward in your life a renewed person .



Hope you'll continue to visit the board and share your thoughts

[Blissbomb]

Thanks for the advice, my friends think I've gone nuts. I dont know why this movie affected me so badly. I have noticed that a lot of people really hate this movie also.

I always look for faults in movies, things they could have done better, but I cant find any cliches or stereotypes in LlT, sophia is a very clever person.

I didnt choose to be affected like this and I certainly cant put my finger on why this movie does it. LIT seems to be a combination of everything, like a chemical formula that when set up in sequence it has an effect on the brain?

One scene where Bob and Charlotte are sitting in the darkness in the back of the Taxi and she looks across at him while he is sleeping gives me goosebumps, the music is just pulseating, its just awesome!

[phillygalinutah]

Second that! I didn't expect to feel that way either. And others, like my husband and some friends hated LIT too. They wanted instant entertaiment. Take your satisfaction that LIT gave you pauses to think about the meanings of this movie and perhaps parallels you can see in your own life. Many movies are forgotten as quickly as the next weekend's action blockbuster.

[hull_street]

I understand what BlissBomb is getting at, as well. I'd say this is a life-changing film, if properly viewed. One line of thought is that the goal of making a film (well, an art-film, anyway) is to realize some "truth" of the human condition. And I think Sofia really managed to capture that here. The particular scene mentioned is the one where I realized just how special this film was, too. My goosebumps came right before then: It was the second (close-up) shot of Charlotte looking out of the taxi window that stole my breath. She's in focus, then the focus quickly changes to the reflection of her surroundings. Meanwhile, the words "you can't hide, oh no, from the way I feel" play on the soundtrack. It's the perfect moment of the film, for me. Everything comes together into perfect focus for that microsecond, then it's lost. I think the references to buddhism are not just throwaway lines; there's a sort of philosophy behind this film. But maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

[jeffyen]

I needed 3 screenings to get some sort of 'closure'. I misunderstood the screenplay the first time, thought it was about supporting 'adultery'...

This film is not a film...like the guy says in Stripes (was it Bill?), "It is alive!"

[Blissbomb]

okay, just purchased the DVD and had my third viewing of LIT. I think Sophia has learnt that simplicity tells a better story, less is more, let the small things tell the story! Where does sophia go from here? I hope she never makes a sequel, it would never work. Does this film prove that a friendship is more powerful than a relationship? The time line of the movie is interesting, it takes a long time for anything to happen. The first 20 minutes are set up, the next 20 minutes are Bob and Charlotte bumping into one another, so we are half way through the film before anything really happens. It starts of very slowly , then slowly picks up pace till we reach the climax, this is opposite to most Hollywood blockbusters, who start of with a bang, lag in the middle and end with a flurry of special effects. How much did this movie make at the box office?

[hull_street]

That's funny, I don't think the movie really hit me until the third time I saw it. The first time, I liked it, but had to get over the fact that it was not really a comedy (as it was being improperly billed as). The second time, I got it, and really liked it. But the third time, once I got the DVD, I started picking up on the smaller details, facial expressions, music, subtitles, etc, and it just blew me away. If I hadn't seen it that third time, I'm not sure I would have liked it quite as much as I do now.

[jeffyen]

How much did this movie make at the box office?

I'm not exactly sure if I'm reading it correctly. The film needed 4 million bucks, and so far it's earned 44 million bucks (in the US alone)?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335266/business

[jm]

"[quote:c984e16d92="Blissbomb"]I always look for faults in movies, things they could have done better, but I cant find any cliches or stereotypes in LlT, sophia is a very clever person.[/quote:c984e16d92]

It is amazing, isn't it, that seeing it over and over, you can't really see anything that's misplaced or done wrong. (An exception, for me, is below.) You will notice things about clothes and see that some scenes seem moved around in the sequence that was planned -- someone mentioned that the clothes Charlotte is wearing when John is packing to leave are the same as in another scene they have together. But it really is perfect, isn't it?


[quote:c984e16d92="jeffyen"]I misunderstood the screenplay the first time, thought it was about supporting 'adultery'... [/quote:c984e16d92]

I was shocked by the treatment of Bill's banging the lounge singer. The only thing that makes it a moral problem in the movie is that Charlotte stumbles onto it."

[jeffyen]

Nono, what I meant was I thought in the beginning that the 'relationship' between the leads was 'adulterous', and I'm shocked that I (and I think many others) actually want them to 'keep in touch/be together'...

[jm]

"[quote:6fa29d94a9="jeffyen"]Nono, what I meant was I thought in the beginning that the 'relationship' between the leads was 'adulterous', and I'm shocked that I (and I think many others) actually want them to 'keep in touch/be together'...[/quote:6fa29d94a9]

You can mean whatever you like -- I still mean what I meant. "

[pearly]

One scene where Bob and Charlotte are sitting in the darkness in the back of the Taxi and she looks across at him while he is sleeping gives me goosebumps, the music is just pulseating, its just awesome!

I love that moment too. The music in the backgroud is My Bloody Valentine's "Sometimes." i kept listening to that song afterwards.

a similar moment that I love is in High Art, when Lucy (Ally Sheedy) glances at Syd (Radha Mitchell) when they're driving into the country, with a Shudder to Think song playing in the background

I know what you mean when you say that you can't get the film out of your mind. the funniest time was when I went to see Underworld in a theatre (i know, what a waste of time), and I was actually thinking about LiT *while* i was trying to watch Underworld lol. i guess i wasn't too interested in watching vampires/werewolves kill each other

I've only recently gotten "closure" on LiT, after seeing it five times in theatres - the first being at the Toronto International Film Festival, with Scarlett and Sofia in the theatre. that was the best movie experience ever

[Guest]

I'm so happy to see more people joining the group and continuing the conversation about this wonderful movie! Welcome to all new members!

Bob

[Guest]

The best way I can describe the movie is it's the first movie I've seen that makes my heart ache. My wife is not big on movies, so when she goes off to see her mother for a few days, I always watch LiT. I don't think I'd want to watch this movie with anyone else. It's such a deeply personal movie that I think I'd feel weird watching it with someone else.

Watching it last night, the final scene with Bob and Charlotte almost moved me to tears. First time it's done that. Not tears of sadness, but tears due to the sheer level of emotion. I know what that parting feels like. I've been there myself.

I think I finally picked up Bob's words he whispered at the end. I've deliberately avoided all comments on the subject because I didn't want someone elses interpretation to taint my view of the movie. I wanted my own. I won't say what I THINK I heard. I'm just happy to THINK I heard something.

[ybrik2k]

The first time I saw it, I made the wise decision to go to the theater by myself...I knew it wasn't a movie for everyone.

Thank God I did go alone because I felt like I got punched in the stomach after that last scene and wouldn't have been able to talk to anyone anyway. It was a Friday night and my weekend was, to put it mildly: trashed.

I don't completely understand why I reacted --and continue to react-- so strongly. I thought it was just me because it struck a very personal chord with a past experience but, now that I see so many others getting the same reaction, I wonder...could we ALL have "been there" before?

Maybe the emotion it conjures -of bittersweet love- is one that many, if not everyone, has experienced.

[bloomer]

Okay, now you peaked my curiosity? What did you think was said in the whisper? Don't worry, noone here will criticize your opinion...you just peaked my interest.

[Suntory]

The first time I saw it, I made the wise decision to go to the theater by myself...I knew it wasn't a movie for everyone. . .

Yea. I saw it the first time with my wife and then the other 4 by myself. It's a good solitudinious contemplative film.
Like "Choose Me".

Yes it was and continues to be a very powerful film for us all.
There are quite a few moments and emotions it conjures that
many of us can relate to. So it persists.

[Chicken]

I saw the movie two days ago, and I've been thinking about it ever since. I seriously cursed myself for waiting so long to see it. It made me question if my life would be any different today if I had seen it while my mind was in vulnerable and easily influenced state last year.

No movie has ever affected me so deeply and so long after viewing as Lost in Translation has. It's an undescribable emotion that cannot be put into words. Since then I've been desperately seeking LiT sites, reviews, message boards and such to fuel my hungry mind. The only thing that will make me feel better is watching the movie again. I think this my new favorite movie.

[Guest]

What also may make you feel better is listening to the soundtrack!