Scarlett Johansson are stuck in the Tokyo Hyatt bored, unable to sleep, and dealing with a foreign culture and absent spouses. Although you’d expect some sort of cheesy Hollywood romance to bloom, the film aims for something beyond sex–intimacy. One review was really accurate. The movie starts with a shot of underwear clad Johansoon lying on a bed. At first giggle you might laugh at this shot, but then you start to realize that a woman in her underwear is not necessarily about sex, but more about being intimate and trusting of someone. Building on those themes are what the movie does, and it’s a kind of wild tale as the two weave there way through Tokyo. I could relate to the numbing effects of long distance travel, and have to deal with the translation issues nearly every day (in fact, I think I could understand the broken English spoken by some of the Japanese better than most after spending so long dealing with my wife’s crazy friends). I also enjoyed some of the “”characters”” that the movie poked fun at, including the Hollywood bimbo and the overimportant American business travellers. I highly recommend the film if you thought Royal Tennebaums or Rushmore were worthwhile flicks. It is not for everyone (and that’s not bad). Actually made me want to visit Tokyo (though I’ve wanted to do that for some time now).]]>
Lost in Translation