Play It Again Sam...er um...I mean Charlotte!!!

[redleader74]

The early 2000's were a great time indeed....along a similar vein as LIT, I was and still am, a HUGE fan of Dave Attell's "Insomniac" which aired on Comedy Central. For those of you who don't remember it or never heard of it, the show featured comedian Dave Attell visiting a different city each episode to explore that city's late, late night life. He usually started in the evening and would end as the sun came up, visiting various late nite or 24hr establishments, from bars, restaurants, gas stations, clubs, factories, and various random business including pawn shops, farms, you name it. It was as entertaining as it was informative.

A few of the episodes were one-hour long and featured Dave visiting an international city and would you believe, one of them was Tokyo! That particular episode was dubbed "Sloshed In Translation'. Unfortunately I missed that episode and haven't been able to find it anywhere online.

[You Make it Easy]

Long time no see, Glad to see this forum still around. Just finished watching Lost in Translation after sometime and thought of this place. Hope everyone is doing well out there!

[Clint]

Long time no see everyone. This place is like a familiar old friend. And like a time capsule. My last post here may have been more than 10 years ago. Here I am, again. I am thankful this forum still exists, for one day our words and bonds may one day disappear.

I may be older, but I can still think about the younger me in Japan, and go back to those carefree days of sakura, food and drinks, friends, outings, and life lessons.

Like a deep night in the izakayas of Japan, the memories of the film never leave me. Oh, the nostalgia. I definitely don't think about LiT as much as I used to, and I probably haven't seen the film in more than a decade, but it's what the film represents to me. A time of growing up, of a blossoming interest in Japan that took me there many times, of uncertainty, of feeling trapped in a relationship, of finding myself.

I hope you are all doing okay. In the last few years, I have had a number of setbacks as I developed chronic anxiety. The struggle is up and down. I now find myself almost totally in the dark at night, with a cup of tea and relaxing music, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

I see that some users have deleted all of their posts and moved on. I find comfort in this place and I'm glad it's still here. Kanpai. Here's to you, wherever you may be and whatever may have happened in the last few years, I wish you all well.

[redleader74]

Welcome Back!

In looking over my history here, I see that I actually disovered/joined this group in 2016, so many, many years after the movie came out. And though I never lived in Japan and never travelled there until 2016 (hence joining this group), my history with the movie goes way back to when it first came out...when a trip to Japan felt incredibly distance and impossible. Yet, I watched the movie many dozens of times as a form of escape to the distant, far, and foreign. Both the backdrop/location and the stories of the characters. How I long for that phase in my life again. The movie and now the place, is like a dear, dear friend. So glad that this group has survived this long.

[Bob_san]

Hi folks! I just finished another watch and thought of the forum and wanted to come by and see what's up.
Nice to see people coming back from time to time continuing to share their memories and feelings and states of mind.
That's what the movie is about and evokes in people and makes it special!

redleader74 talked about Dave Attell's "Insomniac" episode in Tokyo. I think there is a separate post about how someone found it on youtube. I watched it.
Clint thanks for sharing your memories and sorry to hear about your anxieties but it sounds like you're creating a nice space for yourself for that.

About 10 years ago when things were going better for me, I had hoped to travel to Japan in 5 years from that time. But life being what it is that ended up not being possible unfortunately.
It is still something I aspire to at some point, on my bucket list I guess.
I found an interesting youtube channel, travelgeek, where they have posted a ton of stuff about traveling in Japan!
I may start a separate thread about that.

Anyway, Universe willing, we will be celebrating 20 years of the film in Sept 2023!!!

[redleader74]

Thanks Bob_san for keeping up this site. It's both a sanctuary and a time machine. Wow, 20 year anniversary coming up? Definitely hope we can do something here, like I think in the past many years ago you guys had group viewing parties or something like that online?

[samwright8380]

Thanks for keeping the site up Bob. I don't watch the film often, it might have been a couple of years since my last viewing now, but even 20 years later it's still a beautiful film for so many reasons. Like was said above, both the film and the site represent a different time in my life and it's nice to look back here occasionally and find things as they were.

I think I may have only managed to catch a simul view once when they were regular, but it would be great to arrange something for the 20th anniversary.

[Luigi]

Hello, folks! Long time no see. So, I’ve just watched it again. Still fresh and amazing, like the first time I saw it. Hope you’re all doing well.

EDIT: Blimey, I have been a member of this forum for almost 20 years now (I joined in 2004). Crazy. Thanks, Bob, for keeping it up for such a long time!

[redleader74]

Like any experience, be it a place, a song, a person, a food, etc., nothing will ever beat that first time. But to be honest, it’s been so many years, I can’t barely remember what it was like the first time I watched LiT

[redleader74]

I don't know how many of you have or use Netflix, but my experience has been that the "really good" movies tend not to be on there and they really are pushing more original content than anything else. On to of that, the same mediocre movies they push are listed in multiple categories. But recently LiT kept showing up in my Netflix feed. Of course, I have my own digital and DVD copies of LiT but I felt like the powers that be were telling me I needed to a viewing as it has been a long while since I watched it (either in part or in whole). So I watched it right off of Netflix. This time I paid more attention to the background characters and supporting cast, like the Charlie's various friends or the photoshoot crew, Ms. Kawasaki's sidekicks...and I wondered what what these actors are up to now. At points I wasn't looking at the picture, just listening tot he dialogue....continues to be such a nostalgic and evocative experience.

[onesmokin3g]

We must be just weeks away from the 20th at this point, no? Any thoughts on a simulcast watching or two?