Lost+In+Translation



Lost In Translation 1.) What is the plot? (what does the character want?) - Bob Harris (Murray) wants to go home. 2.) What is the theme? (What does the character need?) - He needs to feel like he's living again - he needs to make a real connection/have a real emotional experience; he needs a friend.

Scene - Bob and Charlotte explore the Tokyo nightlife Lighting - most of the scene takes place in clubs and a karaoke booth. The most significant lighting is the half-lighting during the karaoke sequence when Bob sings his last song. Both bob and Charlotte are side lit as they look at each other, representing how both feel half empty, and slightly conflicted, about their growing romance. It also represents that they fill each other's emptiness, as the opposite sides of their faces is side lit, the darker side representing the emptiness. The lighting in the hallway also helps create the symmetry that also represents the symmetry of their feelings and situations, despite the vastly different causes.

Mise-en-scene - the dark club/karaoke room settings of both scenes creates an ominous setting. Add in the fact that no one besides Charlotte is fluent in english, and Bob's outsider/lonely persona is highlighted. Bob's nature in talking with the japanese people, often making cynical jokes at them that they couldn't possibly understand also point out his own cynical nature.

Cinematography - the scenes are all handheld and shaky, particularly during the club scene, the house party scene, and the subsequent transition between the two, and they help the viewer feel more involved with the action. It also helps to point out the craziness of clubbing/drinking/smoking in a foreign country where they can't speak the language. Another important shot is during Bob's last song during the karaoke. Bob is in the foreground, and Charlotte is visibly in the background, and the focus changes between the two constantly to get both character's reactions to the song. Another interesting choice was to zoom in quickly on the karaoke booth from another building. Their booth is the only one in the building that is lit, and the quick sweeping movement of the camera at the beginning represents looking for Bob and Charlotte as they are 'lost' in tokyo, as well as in their lives.

Sound - The most important sound in this scene are the songs sung by Bob and Charlotte during the karaoke scene. The lyrics of Bob's first song represent his isolation and loneliness: ' as i walk through this wicked world, searching for light in the darkness of insanity, i ask myself, is all our hope lost, is there only pain and hatred in misery'. The next song represents Charlotte's feelings for Bob, and her need for attention because of her husband pretty much ditching her in Tokyo. The last song represents again Bob's loneliness and his feelings towards Charlotte: 'i could feel at the time there was no way of knowing, falling leaves in the light, who can say where they're going, as free as the wind, hopefully learning, why the sea on the tide, has no way of turning, more than this, you know there's nothing, tell me one thing, more than this, there's nothing'. The Japanese music heard softly while the two are sitting in the hallway alone also helps to remind the viewer of the isolation an loneliness that consumes both characters.

Editing - The most significant editing in this scene was when Charlotte is singing her song in the karaoke booth. It cuts between closeups of her and Bob as she dances sexually while singing. The whole scene relies on the unspoken emotional language between the two, and this is communicated through their facial expressions and reactions to each other, shown with the close ups on the two's faces.