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Discuss the fabulous movie Lost In Translation!

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A moment of silence
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Opinions please.

#1 Post by A moment of silence » Tue Oct 04, 2005 11:16 pm

What do the smiles mean at the end? If Bob and Charlotte were really sad about leaving each other, how come at the end they both leave smiling. Well, Charlotte smiles. Bob has this look of anxiety and excitement. Charlotte was crying while they hugged, then how come he grew the biggest smile he ever had the whole movie after he walked away from her and then she left smiling ? I would just like to know what YOU ALL think about this. I have my own ideas, don't worry. :wink: Peace.

p.s this smiling thing makes you feel less sad about their future.
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#2 Post by adrien950 » Wed Oct 05, 2005 12:19 am

Well I wish I had an answer for that, that was definitive..but I don't. I'd like to think that they're both smiling because they will meet again one day soon,but if you look at the movie you get to know the characters pretty well. Well enough to know that neither one would leave their spouses.
So in my heart..they are smiling cause they will be meeting again later, but my mind tells me that they both just experienced perfect closure. :wink:
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#3 Post by jm » Wed Oct 05, 2005 6:28 am

Sofia has said that the Whisper is Bob finally expressing his feelings for her, after being silent for the whole movie. I think he can do so because they are finally, assuredly parting ways. His smile comes from the joy of having done so, and perhaps from having assimilated his experience and knowing his sadness will turn into a very happy memory.
Last edited by jm on Sat Feb 17, 2007 12:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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#4 Post by 52FM » Thu Oct 06, 2005 12:32 pm

Some relationships are destined to be emphemeral - they really can't last; as much as it may pain either person - they just have to end at a given time (else they create complications that the relationship cannot overcome.)

In their situations, they knoew it couldn't last. Both of them knew it even if they might have had moments of wishing otherwise. "I don't want to leave." "Then don't." But they both knew they had to end their relationship. (See the discussion about a sequel in a separate thread.)

The last scene was their private closure; the viewer is not to know what was said - but it's gets complciated because obviously Bill Murray whispered something to Scarlett. There were many takes and Scarlett in an interview said Bill said a lot of things - some silly, some serious.

People have processed the tape through computer software filters (I have a couple of programs that do that - to filter tapes of a band I was in 35 years ago). They work well - and from it people found out what he said.

But it's not important. What he happened to say on that take is not the point.

The script said "Bob was happy to being going home, and he was happy he came to Tokyo". That says a lot to me.
"Willoughby. Next stop is Willoughby."

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#5 Post by jm » Thu Oct 06, 2005 10:45 pm

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#6 Post by A moment of silence » Thu Oct 06, 2005 11:03 pm

Yep. I saw that written on the script I downloaded. That is true.
Excelent posts, dudes.

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#7 Post by Congruous » Fri Oct 07, 2005 11:07 am

This movie illustrates a restraint that we don't see anymore. You have two people existing in the roles that their culture expects them to play who, when they stumble across each other in an alien environment, struggle to keep to their proscribed roles while also straining to get acquainted without violating taboos. This is the tension that is the movie's emotional centerpiece. At the movie's end, the restraint slips away for a few moments. That's when you see the smiles. Charlotte realizes that regardless of what happens in the future, Bob cares deeply for her. Bob, when he flashes that trademark Bill Murray grin, knows he has cleared things up; he's done the best he can in that situation, and he can get on with his life.

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#8 Post by I65 » Fri Oct 07, 2005 12:03 pm

Yet another excellent post on this thread.

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#9 Post by 52FM » Fri Oct 07, 2005 1:09 pm

Yes - very well said Congruous.

I especially liked the movie becuase of the restraint they showed. I remember reading a review where the (female) reviewer was impressed that it wasn't the typical "F the chickie" movie; which showed to me how cheap mivies like that can be; LiT was far from cheap - it was VERY rich!

"Charlotte realizes that regardless of what happens in the future, Bob cares deeply for her."

I would add that Bob relaized the same about Charlotte.

What a gift - to go the rest of your life knowing somewhere in the country there is a person who meant a lot to you, and you meant a lot to her!
"Willoughby. Next stop is Willoughby."

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#10 Post by hull_street » Fri Oct 07, 2005 10:49 pm

A moment of silence wrote:What do the smiles mean at the end? If Bob and Charlotte were really sad about leaving each other, how come at the end they both leave smiling.
Charlotte is smiling because she has gained a new sense of herself and her worth as a person.
Bob is smiling because he wants that to be the image that Charlotte forever remembers him by.

Underlying both those smiles is the relief of having handled everything properly.

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#11 Post by KKDallas » Sat Oct 08, 2005 12:05 am

I think he is happy because he needed the opportunity to say a proper goodbye to her and to thank her for their time together.

I think she is happy because she needed to hear what he had to say. It obviously made her feel better and she needed that. I think she wanted to feel special and by Bob finding her on the street and speaking to her, she realized that he thinks she is special.

It was such a great ending and makes me more happy than sad.

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#12 Post by jml98 » Sun Oct 09, 2005 5:02 am

I think they're smiling because they are just realizing that they will never meet another person that understood them like they did; they are beginning to fully appreciate each other


but i like how Sofia puts it in the script "Bob is happy to be going home, but happy that he came to Tokyo"
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#13 Post by lost in Ireland » Tue Oct 11, 2005 5:46 pm

I think that they are smiling because they weren't saying goodbye, they were saying au revoir. I don't think that it was the end, but the beginning. Meeting each other made them realise just how unhappy they were in their lives before they did meet. There aren't many people in this life who you completely connect with, and they did, possibly for the first time for both of them. Bob was already halfway out of his marriage when he admitted that Lydia didn't need him anymore, and although his kids missed him, they had got used to him not being around. I think that they do meet up again when they are both home,but then again, I am a hopeless optimist when it comes to love..

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#14 Post by Congruous » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:09 pm

Well put, Ireland! I'll take optimism any day.

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#15 Post by adrien950 » Wed Oct 12, 2005 12:18 am

I agree. While the way they ended things was the perfect goodbye..it could also be the start of a beautiful relationship. :)
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#16 Post by A moment of silence » Thu Oct 13, 2005 9:00 pm

Yeah andrien950. That is exactly why when the movie finished the first time I saw it I told mother: Oh, this is sad- and she responded: no it isn't, it isn't at all. She told me that they knew each other so, in a way it was the beginning of a wonderful friendship. :P The smiles could mean this also...
Nothing is more beautiful than something that will not last

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