The Song Fight Bulletin Board

Someone recently gave this flick to me on DVD. My wife & I watched it and though it was visually appealing, we got nothing out of it. We couldn't figure out what all the hype was for. What have you gotten out of the film?

Niveous wrote:What have you gotten out of the film?

Individual human emotions are like untranslatable foreign phrases in that all the talking in the world won't help to explain something that must be experienced to be understood.

Wow, you got all that from LIT. Hmmm. Mind if I ask, what scenes got you to that revelation? I've heard people say that the scene that is the real payoff is when they fall asleep together in his apartment, but I still can't see how it all pulls together, or moreso what Sofia Coppola is trying to tell me with this film.

It was just....ehhh. I didn't see what all the hype was either. I would rather watch Lost in Translation than most newer films, though.

Niveous wrote:Mind if I ask, what scenes got you to that revelation?

I only saw it once, and I don't have a copy to review, so I really can't remember individual scenes with any accuracy. What I can remember now is a dichotomy between the way that the couples (Rabisi and Johannsen, Murray and his wife) were able to communicate, and the way that that Murray and Johannsen were able to communicate. It wasn't so much that the spouses of the leads were ignoring their concerns as much as it was that they couldn't understand what their partners were trying to express. My overall remembrance of the scenes with Murray and Johannsen is that the scenes had very little dialogue, but they both understood exactly what the other one was saying.

But then what about when Bill Murray's character sleeps with the chanteuse and they have the misunderstanding. Wouldn't that be contradictory?

Shoot, I can't remember the movie well enough to give a detailed analysis of it.

Fair enough, Erik.

PS- you had to pick the oddest of all the lines from that song for your signature.

Man, that line is the awesomest and the song would only be so-so without it.

Okay, I read an online script (which are never quite exactly right) but I can remember a bit more about it now.

I don't think there's ever a real misunderstanding between the two leads. I mean, Johnannsen is kind of upset at him after getting with the singer, but it's not like she doesn't understand why he would do it. And it's not like it warps her view of who he is or what he's all about. I think that at every scene, whether they express it or not, they seem to understand what the other one is saying and feeling, because of how similar their characters are.

And that unspoken bond between two people in different parts of their lives (yet still similiar parts) is the glue of the story? OK, I can kinda see that. kinda.

I guess I just don't like her writing style. I didn't like "The Virgin Suicides" much either. Again, visually great but I didn't get all she wanted me to get out of the story (though I liked TVS more than LIT).

I loved Lost in Translation - and for reasons which had nothing at all to do with Bridget Johansson's arse (although I do think her arse deserves an Oscar for Best....arse). Great soundtrack too.

I actually watched The Virgin Suicides on video last night - and didn't get into it at all - seemed a bit dull. Although it also had a good soundtrack.

I'm really starting to get into Air. Who'd have thought that French disco could be enjoyable?

Caravan Ray wrote:I actually watched The Virgin Suicides on video last night - and didn't get into it at all - seemed a bit dull. Although it also had a good soundtrack.

I'm really starting to get into Air. Who'd have thought that French disco could be enjoyable?

I concur. OK film, absolutely great soundtrack. Best thing Air have done, and I love Air. They're not really French disco [or Disko] though - no Ottawan they.

j$

I love Lost in Translation, but do not dig on Virgin Suicides except for the soundtrack, which is excellent, as noted. Air is quite good. LiT has a good soundtrack too.

The arch in Lost in Translation that I found most prominent is the feeling of loneliness and alienation we all have. These two strangers hit it off because they're both lost and lonely, but they don't have an affair or anything. And then when it's time for both of them to go back to reality, they don't exchange contact information. When I first saw it it just about punched me in the gut and made me feel pretty terrible.

It was one of the best movies I saw in 2003. The dialogue was the best part of it all. I know that a lot of you just didn't "feel the magic", or whatnot, but the situation I was in when I watch a movie molds my reactions to everything. And the person I was that moment I watched it was bowled over with emotion.

...And the Virgin Suicides is beautiful as well.