elysium v.two.zero

ill admit to being a bit biased towards this movie when i first saw the trailer back in july. here is this movie about two strangers wandering the streets of a beautifully shot tokyo, and i was just wanting desperately to fly back to japan. its been 4 years since my summer trip thru japan, but everything i remember lies pristine in my otherwise usually forgetful (and near non-existent) memory.

bob harris is a washed-up actor who's in japan to shoot a commercial for suntory whiskey. he doesn't speak the language, doesn't really know the culture, and just wants to fly home as soon as possible. charlotte is a recent wife of a globe-trotting photographer. she tagged along with him to tokyo because she really had nothing else to do. both charlotte and bob are staying at the same hotel, ccasionally running into each other at the hotel bar because of their insomnia. over time, as bob feels more distant from the things he left in america (his wife and distant daughter) and charlotte wanders aimlessly thru life, they begin to find comfort in each others company. they explore the city, live life a little, and start to understand where life is leading them as bob's winds down and charlottes just begins.

the basic plot of lost in translation isnt overly complex, but it is an appropriate foundation to lay upon a subtle story of 2 lost souls. bob is tired, his wife keeps sending him carpet samples and shelf diagrams, and his daughter is growing up in his absence. he's not sure why he's where he's at, and hes using the time away from everything to assess where it is he wants to be. charlotte on the other hand is just beginning her life, but questions whether the choices shes made is guiding her in the right direction. she feels alienated from both her constantly distracted husband and the foreign culture that surrounds her. she just wants to understand what it is shes supposed to do with her life. it is by chance that bob and charlotte run into each other whiling away their days and nites in tokyo. their subtle interplay and dialogue builds in a steady climb, gently tapering off, then ascending again til they find themselves running thru the streets of tokyo being chased by a bar attendant with a bb gun. its this subtley of momentum that i thoroughly enjoyed of the movie. the shots linger and the dialogue sparse at times. theres a gentle pace to the movie. it doesnt feel that its in a rush. instead, you feel that the movie is drawing out time, lending bob and charlotte the quiet moments to spend time with each other.

their situation in a foreign culture lends itself to their isolation...that their life is an island. but when youre on an island, its always nice to have some company. when that island happens to be the exquisitely framed japan, you cant help but just stare at the sheer visual stimulation that is the tokyo streetscape. from the neon-washed streets to a broad view of the city landscape from a hotel room, tokyo breathes life into an otherwise still moment.

as an extra bit of information...in the first scene, bob is being directed in japanese by a hipster director. the director goes on for minutes, only to have bobs translater go "with intensity.." the translated dialogue is provided c/o the ny times.
> not lost in translation