DVD Review HTF Review: Lost In Translation (1 Viewer)

[Fred Bang]

I just want to chim in regarding all this nonsense about offense toward asian people.

I am myself part-vietnamiese(and do not speak that foreign language) and often, family members comes at my house and do not understand a word of English (or French). The ensuing "conversations" are exactly like the ones in Lost in Translation (the hospital scene, for example). It amounts to funny situations where both sides laugh at each others misunderstanding of the language.

And I hear nobody cry out that it's offensive toward Americans! After all, its Bob that doesn't understand the language.

So please, drop this nonsense and see that surely, if it seems offensive, it was not Coppola's intent to make it offensive.

 

[Ronald Epstein]

This was one of the most intelligent statements
I have read today.

 

[richardWI]

It absolutely is, but it's different when an American writer is pointing out the limitations of an American character. (The movie version of Giant is a perfect example of this) The whole "rip my stockings" scene is another matter entirely, and the lack of subtitles assures we can look at the japanese as weird, loud idiots. Why again are supposed to like these characters who make no effort to learn the language of those around them? Why are we supposed to be interested in these self absorbed characters?

 

[richardWI]

That won't happen because of the defamation/libel laws in this country. Anyone who spends some time researching Coppola's background (which I did after watching LIT) will see a lot of "concidences" between the movie she wrote and her life in recent years. Many of which have already been discussed on this thread. Even if it's purely my hallucination, I'm certainly not alone in thinking it, it's shown up in columns, and she's done nothing to dispell the rumors. Sophia has set herself up to be the Truman Capote of the new century, and it's a little disappointing that someone who seemed to display some real talent for moviemaking would squander her resources on petty little in-jokes. Filmmakers should have a sense a responsibility and be mature enough not use the medium to get their personal digs in at someone they don't like.

 

[dpippel]

It seems that you've spent an awful lot of time and energy "getting the dirt" to tear down someone because you didn't like the film they made. Interesting.

So IF the events portrayed by Ms. Copolla in Lost in Translation are even semi-autobiographical, then more power to her for crafting an intelligent, heartfelt movie from them. She's doing what a lot of great directors do and drawing from her own life experiences to create art in film. If all you get out of watching her work here is a sideswiping nastygram to Spike Jonze, Cameron Diaz and the Japanese, well, I'm sorry for you. No insult intended.

 

[Stephen_L]

Richard, why do you assume that by not subtitling the Japanese dialogue we are left to assume that they are weird, loud, idiots? By keeping the language untranslated, Ms. Copolla is trying to put us in the shoes of Bob and Charlotte, to make us share their bewilderment, confusion and isolation. The only 'silly' Japanese are silly not because of their ethnicity but by non-ethnic stereotype (the over-eager hooker, the self-important director, the wacky television host) I could easily mention American equivalents of these humor stereotypes in other films. None were funny specifically because of their Japanese ethnicity, they were just more imconprehensible. I would hasten to add that there are as many positive Japanese characters as 'idiots', i.e. the beautiful Japanese wedding party, the friends in the karyoke parlor and night club, the ikebana class. Feeling things are strange and imconprehensible does not equate to silly or idiotic.

 

[Fred Bang]

By the way, what is Ikebana? Charlotte says over the phone ,crying, "I've even tried Ikebana."

??

 

[richardWI]

I never questioned an artist's right to create autobiographical content. I question the use of the medium as a billboard to get back at specific individuals. I think that's irresponsible and childish.

 

[richardWI]

(BTW this will be my last post on this thread, I made my points a few times and life's too short to spend it arguing about this movie. If anyone feels they must continue with it, email me.)


That's a take I hadn't considered. I saw it as, obviously an attempt at comedy, and in comedy there is usually some form of a victim. It could a person, or a social class, whatever. When you have someone speaking in a foriegn language without subtitles in a comedic routine, who is being made fun of? it could be both the americans and japanese, but for the most part we never learn what the japanese were saying. Is what they had to say somehow of lesser value than the american leads? And it was only done in comedic passages in the movie, NEVER during the drama.

My interpretation could be completely wrong and I lost it somewhere in the translation from the DVD player to my brain. Thanks for providing a different take on it.

 

[MatthewLouwrens]

If I remember my Japanese studies correctly, Ikebana is flower-arranging.

I think from memory there is a slight error in continuity, in that she says that before the flower-arranging scene, but no matter. It could be that she was going back to the class she had already been to.

 

[Carlo_M]

re: Cameron Diaz as the blonde...

Granted that IMDB is not "fact" - but fairly reliable:
re: insulting to the Japanese...

Given the amount of native Japanese people who *worked* on the film (tons of translators and crewmen for the first film team, and seemingly most of the second film crew, if you judge by the documentaries) and the fact that it was filmed entirely in Japan - I think someone would have called her/them on it if they found it patently offensive.

I have actually watched this film with a few first-gen Japanese friends who thought it was surprisingly accurate of what might happen to someone in Bob's position on a visit to Japan.

And the only person I personally know who thought it was offensive to Japanese people...was Caucasian, who is one of those hyper-sensitive PC people at work (you know the kind, the kind who says "we're not calling a repairman, we're calling a repairPERSON" - even though we all know the guy who does repairs for our office is a man.

 

[Carlo_M]

That's exactly how I took it as well. And I thought it was an *excellent* decision on her part.

 

[DaveGTP]

Good point.

 

[Ted Todorov]

Boy, someone should label Citizen Kane irresponsible and childish -- after all, it is a very thinly vailed, and supremely unflattering biography of William Randolph Hearst and Marion Davies (both were alive at the time it was made).

And if you are looking for "a billboard to get back at specific individuals", look no farther than Aristophanes -- the father of comedy. Most of his plays were full of vicious character assassination and awful caricatures of living people, and not even the names were changed.

So, sorry, if you wish to attack Sofia Coppola you are going to have to try again.

Ted

 

[Bryant Trew]

I don't know enough hollywood gossip to agree/disagree on your theory. But I can say that the portrayal of the actress served to further demonstrate the sophisticated connection that the leads had. Didn't catch a single reference to any celebrities.