The Kyoto Sequence

Discuss the fabulous movie Lost In Translation!

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samwright8380
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The Kyoto Sequence

#1 Post by samwright8380 » Mon Feb 28, 2005 2:26 pm

Firstly I must say it's been a while since I posted but I have become no less of a fan since seeing LIT for the first time. I'm actually in Iraq now and althouth i have access to the net i can't watch LIT here, so it's great to go on the site as even so long after the release date it's still throwing up some interesting topics. What I wondering is what peoples opinion is of the sequence showing Charlotte's trip to Kyoto?. Its one of my favourite scenes and it would be interesting to see if anyone else feels likewise
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#2 Post by wiggle » Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:33 pm

The soundtrack that accompanies that scene is perfect. The whole scene needed to be really powerful because I think it proceeds the fabulous scene with Bob and Charlotte on the bed - and you can't get much more powerful than that. The silent scenes with just Charlotte and the Japanese landscape really brings the whole film to life - some find them boring but to me they're utterly beautiful because these scenes give the characters time to think and contemplate where to go next.
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#3 Post by jml98 » Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:04 pm

i love the kyoto scene. its so serene and the music fits in perfectly (Charlotte looks good too). The bed conversation scene followed by this scene is my favorite part of the movie, followed closely by the ending whisper. It's scenes like this that make the movie special.
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#4 Post by jml2 » Mon Feb 28, 2005 11:10 pm

I love the Kyoto scenes. I desperately wish I was there whenever I watch it. wonderful

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#5 Post by samwright8380 » Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:08 pm

i feel the same way...thats why in november i decided to take a trip there. it was at the drop of a hat really. i decided to go a week before i went. there's nothing like watching LIT, putting a pack on your shoulder and saying to yourself:'i think i'll go there now...'
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RyanZ
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#6 Post by RyanZ » Thu Mar 17, 2005 3:25 pm

I would love to travel there and walk through the movie day by day and by some wierd chance have the same experience Bob and Charlette had.

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Re: The Kyoto Sequence

#7 Post by Lochlain » Thu Mar 17, 2005 5:10 pm

samwright8380 wrote:Firstly I must say it's been a while since I posted but I have become no less of a fan since seeing LIT for the first time. I'm actually in Iraq now and althouth i have access to the net i can't watch LIT here, so it's great to go on the site as even so long after the release date it's still throwing up some interesting topics. What I wondering is what peoples opinion is of the sequence showing Charlotte's trip to Kyoto?. Its one of my favourite scenes and it would be interesting to see if anyone else feels likewise
I love it... It's kinda hard to explain why I like it so much. I just do.
==
You're in Iraq... Good luck then. I hope you'll come back home soon.

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#8 Post by The Shoegazer » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:21 pm

I love that sequence but has anyone noticed that a one point when you see the distant shot of Charlotte and temple in the background the ground is really really white? is that snow or its just the way the ground looks?
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#9 Post by samwright8380 » Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:40 am

the temple in question is the heian jingu shrine. its actually a scale reproduction of an ancient palace built i think to celebrate the meiji restoration(don't quote me on it.....) the courtyard seen in the film is actually covered in white gravel, its just the way the sunlight reflects off it. the stepping stones she walks over are also in the grounds of the same temple, and were originally supports taken from an ancient bridge once in kyoto. The shrine is actually very popular with japanese tourists as is the whole of Kyoto, and it would seem the shots were taken as it closed as during the day it would never be this quiet. I do have plenty of shots of the temple etc which i will try and make sure find their way on to the site soon as i'm out of Iraq next week and will be re-united with my laptop....
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#10 Post by The Shoegazer » Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:04 pm

Thanks samwright8380!
You seem to have done your research, know a lot about the place and I presume you have been in Tokyo. If so, have you visited some places featured in the movie? Now come on tell us about them. I am dying to go there one day and I will even if its the last thing I do!! :D
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#11 Post by samwright8380 » Fri Mar 25, 2005 8:57 am

i went to to Tokyo in november as i am a fan of the film and have long since harboured a fascination with eastern culture. I have of course visited Shibuya and Shnjuku as well as the Park Hyatt and all of the locations in the Kyoto sequence. It is very true how you are hit by the feeling of isolation as a westerner, as the culture, people and the sound of even the language is all very alien compared with what you are used to. It's very much an experience where you are surrounded by a foreign atmosphere as there is no 'crutch' of western civilisation to hold on to, hence the feeling of alienisation. Shibuya district is essentially a mass shopping complex dominated by the crossroads and that big glass fronted building. Inside is a big music/video store over about four floors separated by content (and i think every episode of every japanese cartoon known to man). On the second floor is the starbucks from which Sofia filmed parts of the sequence. Although like everything there it's small but a great place to go to watch the insane crowds of people as they wait at the crossroads. In all it has a very overwhelming atmosphere and is certainly not for the faint hearted! Shinjuku is really split into two parts; the area containing the shops (the neon lights when bob is in the taxi at the start) and the business area where the park hyatt is situated. Within the first are a multitude of shops, restaurants and arcades that you would expect jammed amongst the neon lights as well as the notorious red light district, all within a sea of people. The area in which the hyatt is situated is within the central bussiness area of tokyo. Not as crowded, to walk along the pavement underneath the skyscrapers certainly gives you the sensation of being an ant, with the park hyatts' building clocking in at around 700+ feet tall. The hotel itself is exactly as seen in the film, down to the tone of the elevator. In fact it gives an eerie sensation as though walking into the movie. From the entrance you walk directly to the elevator as the lobby is actually on something like the 50th floor (where you see anna faris and her 'singing') again as in the film. As you walk from there into the corridor the phone bob uses to call charlottes room is still there, and you must take another lift to the new york bar. It would seem as though title screen of the dvd was shot at the exit from the elevator. The new york bar ajoins onto the restaurant in an l-shape, and actually appears somewhat smaller in real life, though the layout is still the same, with the piano facing the window etc. It is mainly frequented by japanese businessmen in the evenings and there is usually a band playing throughout....
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#12 Post by jml2 » Fri Mar 25, 2005 6:44 pm

samwright that sounds so great 8)
much envy

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#13 Post by The Shoegazer » Fri Mar 25, 2005 11:38 pm

Thats nice. So I guess Sofia captured the feeling very well in the movie.Were you staying at Park Hyatt or just wandering about? I heard the prices are insane but I guess you can go to the bar even if you do not sleep there. I am going to Europe this summer so I might fly for a week to Tokyo while there. That would be great. I loved you description of the place too.
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#14 Post by samwright8380 » Sun Mar 27, 2005 7:50 am

well I planned to stay there on my last night but by the time i had finished with the bar there really was no point....but i would say definitely the best part of visiting was those temples in kyoto. Its definitely a place well worth exploring, i certainly wished that i'd had more time to spend there. I think the best way to visit would be to buy a japan rail pass which is an unlimited pass for the bullet train which you can only buy outside of the country, then take maybe a couple of weeks to travel throughout. I keep coming up with excuses to go back this summer myself.....
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#15 Post by jml2 » Mon Apr 04, 2005 9:59 pm

I recently bought this book

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/de ... s&n=507846

it's very nice, but it does not feature the temples that Charlotte visited (Heian Shrine and Nanzenji Temple).
recommended if you like pictures of misty rainy Japanese gardens

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#16 Post by ForRelaxingTimes » Fri May 20, 2005 1:18 am

Yes I envy you as well, that must have been quite the experience to handle. Even though the language barrier prevented you from proper conversation, were the people nice/helpful in anyway? I heard they usually are; I plan on going next summer if the income is fruitful. :D

The Kyoto scenes literally took my breath away, I was astonished to see the temples, the tree, the stepping stones. In a way I could almost see the history as I looked on those aged temples. Now I must get myself on a plane and head on over. :)
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#17 Post by Guest » Fri May 20, 2005 10:22 am

If you are really that interested, it wouldn't hurt to send Scarlett an email or even a letter to her fan mail address. She probably gets so much silly, insipid, adoring nonsense that she'd be happy to answer some intelligent questions about shooting sites in Japan.

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#18 Post by ForRelaxingTimes » Fri May 20, 2005 3:22 pm

That is an idea, but I seriously doubt she would respond considering how much fan mail she probably gets. :?
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#19 Post by findingcharlotte » Mon May 23, 2005 12:20 am

IM sure with her popularity now she would get her mail answered through a service. I tried Sophia C several times at various addresses incl the shooting / site address for her last film ( right to her door ) She never replied to any :?
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#20 Post by Autumn Child » Mon Aug 08, 2005 1:54 pm

amazing.

i think its my second favourite scence.


its so beautiful and at atmospheric and the music is perfect :D
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