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Lost in Translation
written in JAPANESE
Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
About the author
Sofia Coppola
24 books176 followersSofia Carmina Coppola is an American film director, actress, producer and Academy Award-winning screenwriter. She is the first American woman and third woman in history to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing, the other two women being Lina Wertmüller and Jane Campion.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
October 15, 2012
The film. The bum crack.
You know. Unattractive older man with hair and skin issues has fantasy relationship with beautiful young girl. I was assured by more than one middle aged man that hey, no, it just isn't like that. It's not that kind of movie.
So, why the fuck do I have to look at a young girl's bum crack as the fucking opening scene, the very first thing I see in this movie. I guess the middle aged men who spun me the line were only listening to the dialogue, not looking at the pictures? Is that it?
Not long into the movie and I swear if I'd had to look at that bitch's bum crack one more time, I would have thrown something at the screen. I was shocked when she finally went out. She got dressed!! In Japan. A place where they would have loved to see a young girl's bum crack on public display. Leerly laughs there. That's a sic, by the way. The other thing that completely took me aback about this movie was the really cheap sneering laughs at the Japanese. I guess we won the war so we are allowed to? Accent, culture, technology, you name it. The scene early on where some sort of prostitute comes into our hero's room and wants him to abuse her is the most embarrassingly racist and not funny scene I think I've ever seen in a movie since world war two.
The good thing about the girl's bum crack is that when she was showing it to the camera, she didn't talk - or if she was talking, we couldn't hear since, thankfully, her mouth faced away from the camera. Because when she talked, man, was it complete drivel. I mean, when she opined to our middle-aged hero (who is so behaving himself by not shagging her, but shagging some other one night stand instead) that she just didn't know what to do with her life? Like she'd tried writing and she'd tried photography and she was like you know, crap at both of them? The obvious suggestion to make was 'have you tried acting yet, deary?' but our hero missed his chance. He told this vacuous boring piece of ennui stuck to a quite large arse that she should stick to writing. Hilarious. I guess a vacuous piece of advice was in keeping. I thought maybe the whole thing was supposed to be some sort of comedy about American idiots and I was missing the point.
This film even has the compulsory if completely irrelevant scene in a men's sex club so we can see naked women performing for the male audience. I swear I'm going to fall over in a faint if the remake of Mary Poppins when it comes, is lacking one of those.
Was I? Was I missing the point? Or was this drivel?
I have a shelf 'better written than Harry P' Do I need another one? 'not better written than Harry P'?
You know. Unattractive older man with hair and skin issues has fantasy relationship with beautiful young girl. I was assured by more than one middle aged man that hey, no, it just isn't like that. It's not that kind of movie.
So, why the fuck do I have to look at a young girl's bum crack as the fucking opening scene, the very first thing I see in this movie. I guess the middle aged men who spun me the line were only listening to the dialogue, not looking at the pictures? Is that it?
Not long into the movie and I swear if I'd had to look at that bitch's bum crack one more time, I would have thrown something at the screen. I was shocked when she finally went out. She got dressed!! In Japan. A place where they would have loved to see a young girl's bum crack on public display. Leerly laughs there. That's a sic, by the way. The other thing that completely took me aback about this movie was the really cheap sneering laughs at the Japanese. I guess we won the war so we are allowed to? Accent, culture, technology, you name it. The scene early on where some sort of prostitute comes into our hero's room and wants him to abuse her is the most embarrassingly racist and not funny scene I think I've ever seen in a movie since world war two.
The good thing about the girl's bum crack is that when she was showing it to the camera, she didn't talk - or if she was talking, we couldn't hear since, thankfully, her mouth faced away from the camera. Because when she talked, man, was it complete drivel. I mean, when she opined to our middle-aged hero (who is so behaving himself by not shagging her, but shagging some other one night stand instead) that she just didn't know what to do with her life? Like she'd tried writing and she'd tried photography and she was like you know, crap at both of them? The obvious suggestion to make was 'have you tried acting yet, deary?' but our hero missed his chance. He told this vacuous boring piece of ennui stuck to a quite large arse that she should stick to writing. Hilarious. I guess a vacuous piece of advice was in keeping. I thought maybe the whole thing was supposed to be some sort of comedy about American idiots and I was missing the point.
This film even has the compulsory if completely irrelevant scene in a men's sex club so we can see naked women performing for the male audience. I swear I'm going to fall over in a faint if the remake of Mary Poppins when it comes, is lacking one of those.
Was I? Was I missing the point? Or was this drivel?
I have a shelf 'better written than Harry P' Do I need another one? 'not better written than Harry P'?
February 22, 2015
This screenplay should probably be a part of any film enthusiast's reading list, esp. the aspiring screenwriter. If you want to get a sense of what a screenplay should read like, this piece is it. Even if you hadn't seen the film itself, you can see it on the pages.
June 8, 2021
Although there wasn't really any premis to it, it was a really sweet story. To be honest though, I would have gotten so bored watching this movie; I'm glad I read it instead.
April 13, 2022
One of the films that made me fall in love with cinema.
Sofia Coppola manages to make viewers of this film feel the loneliness and longing that were shared between these two characters (for me at least). There’s also a sense of nostalgia attached to this movie. What were they nostalgic for? In my opinion they were nostalgic for happiness and excitement in their lives.
This film lingers. Especially because of the ending. This film ends with Bob and Charlotte parting ways. They embrace within the crowd of strangers with him whispering something into her ear, which was inaudible to the viewers. I read somewhere that he whispered: “I have to be leaving, but I won’t let that come between us. Okay?”
The ending to me is incredibly tearjerking. Days after watching this film, i still think about that specific scene.
Charlotte was suffering from a loveless marriage, and she finally found someone who gets her (Bob). They spend sleepless nights together, running around the city and just having fun in general. It felt real, it felt genuine. Being able to find someone who finally gets you is a hell of a trip on its own. Which is why i found the ending to be heart wrenching, because they had to go back to their normal lives.
It is no doubt that Sofia’s filmmaking skills are impeccable. She’s able to build an atmosphere within her movies makes the viewers feel as if they’re right there with the characters in person. Beautiful cinematography, extremely melancholic (suits the theme of this movie imo). The score fits each scene extremely well, whenever this happens i just swoon. Beautiful script too, their conversations doesn’t feel forced (it just feels organic).
Definitely one of my top 10 favorite movies ever.
Sofia Coppola manages to make viewers of this film feel the loneliness and longing that were shared between these two characters (for me at least). There’s also a sense of nostalgia attached to this movie. What were they nostalgic for? In my opinion they were nostalgic for happiness and excitement in their lives.
This film lingers. Especially because of the ending. This film ends with Bob and Charlotte parting ways. They embrace within the crowd of strangers with him whispering something into her ear, which was inaudible to the viewers. I read somewhere that he whispered: “I have to be leaving, but I won’t let that come between us. Okay?”
The ending to me is incredibly tearjerking. Days after watching this film, i still think about that specific scene.
Charlotte was suffering from a loveless marriage, and she finally found someone who gets her (Bob). They spend sleepless nights together, running around the city and just having fun in general. It felt real, it felt genuine. Being able to find someone who finally gets you is a hell of a trip on its own. Which is why i found the ending to be heart wrenching, because they had to go back to their normal lives.
It is no doubt that Sofia’s filmmaking skills are impeccable. She’s able to build an atmosphere within her movies makes the viewers feel as if they’re right there with the characters in person. Beautiful cinematography, extremely melancholic (suits the theme of this movie imo). The score fits each scene extremely well, whenever this happens i just swoon. Beautiful script too, their conversations doesn’t feel forced (it just feels organic).
Definitely one of my top 10 favorite movies ever.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 22, 2021
Whatever version of the screenplay I read was completely jumbled in the order of scenes in comparison to the movie, so that was difficult to follow along with. I enjoyed the story though. I think I would have cast someone slightly younger in Bill Murray's role, but he does play all the humor perfectly. I would have liked it better if it were more like a fatherly figure than an actual love interest. I think that could have been very powerful.
November 8, 2021
After reading this, I feel like I have to go to Tokyo now. There were moments in the script where I laughed out loud as I was reading..Sofia Coppla encapsulates both of these characters in an endearing way and I was very fond of them and their connection.
May 20, 2017
One of the nicest screenplays I've read. It also helps that this turned out to be an equally beautiful film.
October 20, 2017
An enjoyable read. I haven't seen the film since it first came out but now I feel the need to revisit it. This would have been an interesting novel to read...
March 15, 2019
Great screenplay.
May 18, 2020
Very grateful for some of the onscreen changes made to this one
December 24, 2022
This was my first time reading real screenplay! Pretty interesting.
May 7, 2023
read in one sitting. surprised how simple each sentence was on the screenplay. very nuanced
December 11, 2023
I love Sofia Coppola but not my favorite film of hers
September 19, 2014
It's difficult not to review the screenplay based on Coppola's film in its visual form but Coppola is indeed a wonderful screenwriter to boot. Though the minimalistic film takes its cues from the visuals, Coppola writes the screenplay to a tee for transparent imagery. This is not to say that the script is cliché or lacking complexity, quite the contrary. Coppola uses silence or the unsaid in her script to convey complex relationships (particularly that of Bob and Charlotte), much is left to the reader or viewer to infer rather than be explicated to them. Also worth noting is what is left out of the script yet included in the film, Bill Murray's improvisations and the ending in which is left ambiguous in the film. Lost in Translation is refreshingly stimulating and Sofia Coppola's screenplay seems to capture what is her final vision for the film.
July 6, 2019
Phim hợp với cảm xúc vài tháng nay.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews