Review of Lost in Translation (2003) by Matthew M — 06 Jan 2013

I don't get the hype at all, this was just a movie with no story following two people who are bored and feel stuck in their lives. I travel a lot, have felt stuck in my life, etc., but I still feel no sympathy or empathy for the characters at all. First of all, they seem bored in the first third of the movie before they really start spending time with each other. Having been to Tokyo (alone), if you are bored, it is your own fault. There are plenty of things a person by themselves can do, and there are plenty of ways to meet other people (even those that speak English). Also, both of them cheat on their spouses (at least my wife would consider kissing another girl, etc. cheating. And there was emotional cheating as well). I can't really identify with them doing this because there are much more productive solutions.

Additionally, I didn't really find the funny parts to be funny. Basically the comedy in this movie seemed to rely on making a caricature out of Japanese culture. I won't call it racist like some because it really is representing how many Americans might feel in Japan. I'm also not a PC person and don't have a problem with that type of humor, I just didn't find the execution funny.

All in all, it was a boring film without a story about two boring people who feel sad for themselves while doing nothing productive to fix their situations.