Lost in Translation, Tigerland
Feb. 2nd, 2004 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
It must be nice to be Francis Ford Coppola's daughter. That's the only reason I can see that Lost in Translation would garner so many accolades when there was very little to recommend the film. Don't get me wrong; I liked both Bill and Scarlett, and I liked their characters, even. But where was the story? Okay, they're lonely and isolated. I get that. But WHO CARES? I sure didn't. Other than the comedic moments in the beginning, the whole rest of it was one big snore. The scene where Bob and Charlotte go to party w/ Charlie Brown and the Gang? Made me want to bleed my veins, it was so boring. And it kind of gave me a headache.
Speaking of Charlie Brown and the Gang -- correct me if I'm wrong, but they seemed to be Japan natives, so I assume Charlotte and Mr. Charlotte met them there. And yet Charlotte seems utterly displaced, like she can't make any friends, etc. I could see that when Kelly was there -- but she seemed to enjoy hanging out w/ Charlie and his peeps. So what was up with that? But okay, whatever, I get the sense that she's mostly lost herself, because the implication is that she's really smart and went to Yale and all that, but here she is, kind of like her husband's groupie, and she has no identity of her own.
Part of the problem, though, is that I think we're supposed to sympathize w/ how alone she feels, but I don't, really. I mean, if that's something that's two years in the making, then I really needed to see more than just her ONE WEEK in Japan and her husband just doing his job. It's not like they were there for months and she never saw him. It was ONE WEEK. Suck it up. I didn't get enough about Charlotte previous to meeting her here, to make me fully be able to sympathize w/ her, especially since Giovanni seemed like a perfectly nice husband. It was clearly her own issues bogging her down (just like Bob), but I couldn't empathize w/ it. I actually empathized more w/ Bob -- Sofia did a lot more to show why he was feeling so blah, in terms of his past and his current situation, etc. I felt like I knew Charlotte a lot less.
I hope people don't see this movie and get turned off of visiting a country like Japan because of it. I mean, I'm sure it IS like that to an extent, but the point of the movie was also to show Bob and Charlotte's isolation, so I thought a lot of extra effort was made into making it look strange/bizarre/foreign, and not in a good way. It was one aspect of a country, and we didn't get to see the things, I think, that would make it a great place to visit. I was there once as a little girl, but don't remember much. I've always wanted to go back.
Lastly, I didn't believe the way Charlotte and Bob started talking was all that believable, the way she sent a drink to him because she saw him sitting at a bar. Presumably, she sent it to him because he looked bored/lonely/whatever, and not because he's a movie star (she doesn't seem the type to be taken in by that sort of thing, which was what make her likable), but just like love at first sight, I don't really buy this sort of instantaneous connection. Which is my own issue, but probably affected how I was able to enjoy this whole movie.
I would SO have nominated Whale Rider before this one. Why was it overlooked, when it has everything a good film ought to have?
And now that I've seen it, I also can't in good conscience vote for Sofia in the "best screenplay" category, I don't care how likely it is that she'll win it. It's not deserved, man.
Did a whole bunch of tidying up this weekend, which is so exciting, you don't even know. Found myself tossing out all the XF fanfic I had printed and saved ... that's when you know an obsession is dead. I can only hope that one day, I'll be able to watch my DVDs and recall some semblance of what I used to feel for the show.
Have also tagged about 100 CDs that I don't want, as well as 30 or so VHSes. I don't even want to think about how much money I'd have if not for spending it on those things (at $10 each, about $1,300 -- d'oh, don't think about it!!!).
Also saw Tigerland this weekend. If you're into war films (as I am), or films about comaraderie between guys in the military, or, you know, just want to see Colin Farrell bare-ass naked and having sex (with a woman, although it was so twu wuv between his character and his army buddy), I recommend this film.
Speaking of Charlie Brown and the Gang -- correct me if I'm wrong, but they seemed to be Japan natives, so I assume Charlotte and Mr. Charlotte met them there. And yet Charlotte seems utterly displaced, like she can't make any friends, etc. I could see that when Kelly was there -- but she seemed to enjoy hanging out w/ Charlie and his peeps. So what was up with that? But okay, whatever, I get the sense that she's mostly lost herself, because the implication is that she's really smart and went to Yale and all that, but here she is, kind of like her husband's groupie, and she has no identity of her own.
Part of the problem, though, is that I think we're supposed to sympathize w/ how alone she feels, but I don't, really. I mean, if that's something that's two years in the making, then I really needed to see more than just her ONE WEEK in Japan and her husband just doing his job. It's not like they were there for months and she never saw him. It was ONE WEEK. Suck it up. I didn't get enough about Charlotte previous to meeting her here, to make me fully be able to sympathize w/ her, especially since Giovanni seemed like a perfectly nice husband. It was clearly her own issues bogging her down (just like Bob), but I couldn't empathize w/ it. I actually empathized more w/ Bob -- Sofia did a lot more to show why he was feeling so blah, in terms of his past and his current situation, etc. I felt like I knew Charlotte a lot less.
I hope people don't see this movie and get turned off of visiting a country like Japan because of it. I mean, I'm sure it IS like that to an extent, but the point of the movie was also to show Bob and Charlotte's isolation, so I thought a lot of extra effort was made into making it look strange/bizarre/foreign, and not in a good way. It was one aspect of a country, and we didn't get to see the things, I think, that would make it a great place to visit. I was there once as a little girl, but don't remember much. I've always wanted to go back.
Lastly, I didn't believe the way Charlotte and Bob started talking was all that believable, the way she sent a drink to him because she saw him sitting at a bar. Presumably, she sent it to him because he looked bored/lonely/whatever, and not because he's a movie star (she doesn't seem the type to be taken in by that sort of thing, which was what make her likable), but just like love at first sight, I don't really buy this sort of instantaneous connection. Which is my own issue, but probably affected how I was able to enjoy this whole movie.
I would SO have nominated Whale Rider before this one. Why was it overlooked, when it has everything a good film ought to have?
And now that I've seen it, I also can't in good conscience vote for Sofia in the "best screenplay" category, I don't care how likely it is that she'll win it. It's not deserved, man.
Did a whole bunch of tidying up this weekend, which is so exciting, you don't even know. Found myself tossing out all the XF fanfic I had printed and saved ... that's when you know an obsession is dead. I can only hope that one day, I'll be able to watch my DVDs and recall some semblance of what I used to feel for the show.
Have also tagged about 100 CDs that I don't want, as well as 30 or so VHSes. I don't even want to think about how much money I'd have if not for spending it on those things (at $10 each, about $1,300 -- d'oh, don't think about it!!!).
Also saw Tigerland this weekend. If you're into war films (as I am), or films about comaraderie between guys in the military, or, you know, just want to see Colin Farrell bare-ass naked and having sex (with a woman, although it was so twu wuv between his character and his army buddy), I recommend this film.
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no subject
Date: 2004-02-03 03:43 am (UTC)I fully agree that LiT isn't really Oscar worthy, but in my experience, it IS the type of moody, annoying little film that always gets nominated and lauded. Or rather, that's been my perception of a lot of nominees in the past, and why I sometimes roll my eyes so hard they actually ache a little.
I would say that, because Virgin Suicides was so well-received, that's probably part of why Sofia's second film is talked about so much. But I would also say that the reason Virgin Suicides was so well-received was because she was Copolla's daughter. *g* She did already have a built-in reputation, deserved or not. I think she's a v. decent director, but she should stay the fuck away from screenwriting (something, actually, that is also true of her father), as she doesn't have a particular gift with dialogue or story structure. However, she DOES know how to get a good performance out of an actor, how to light a scene, how to put it all together in an interesting, visual way, which are all the things that weren't Bill Murray that I did like about the movie.
To your points about Japan: I totally agree. I mean, if you're already feeling isolated and alone, even before you travel out of the country, I'm sure it's going to be strange, but at the same time, like you say, suck it up. You're there for a week. Try to get in touch with the local culture, the clubs. If that doesn't work, go to freaking McDonald's to be reminded of home. I refuse to believe that ANY civilized country in this day and age is THAT "foreign." It's not like they were in fucking Bosnia.
I can't wait to hear what your dad thinks of it. *g*
I weep for how much money I would have had if I'd not bought CDs, books, DVDs, blah blah that I didn't really need, and now barely even want. WEEP.
And, finally: OMG I cannot wait to see Colin Farrell simulating coitus on my TV.