Lost in Translation

Audience Reviews

View More (1000+)

Darren C What happens when you throw together two strangers from different generations, both miles away from their homeland in a culture which is completely alien to them? This is the simple premise of Lost in Translation, but of course there is more to story than that. Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is a newlywed who goes to Japan with her photographer husband, John. Charlotte often finds herself alone in the hotel whilst John goes on assignment, enter stage left Bob Harris (Bill Murray). Bob is a famous actor in a long term marriage who is in Japan to shoot lucrative adverts for Japanese whisky and is staying in the same hotel as Charlotte. They meet a couple of times and eventually get talking discovering they enjoy each others company embarking on a short term companionship for the remainder of Bob's time in Japan. The rest of the story is simply what happens during that time and it's a journey of discovery well worth being part of. A great deal of this movies criticism is the lack of a coherent story and an ambiguous ending. Well to think that is to miss the point, for me Lost in Translation is entirely perfect. We get a few cultural chuckles but more importantly we are witnesses to the entirety of a brief but beautiful friendship. One of my all time favourites and the fact that it's shot in Japan just makes it even better with some stunning night-time cinematography. Oh and a soundtrack from Kevin Shields is the icing on the cake. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 09/03/25 Full Review Jey D Moving and melancholic. Rated 4.5/5 Stars •  Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 08/06/25 Full Review Audience Member Okay. I saw this in the theater when it came out, and most of the audience were laughing their fool head off. Several times I looked around to see who had smuggled in some alcohol. It would take a lot of alcohol. It was one joke, over and over. “Japanese people are different! Bwahahaha!!” Murray does an excellent job with this, but…Jesus Christ, there was probably only one or two scenes that were Actually Funny. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/05/25 Full Review Ellie P The movie is a masterpiece in every sense. Nothing wanting. If you want to learn about movie making, or just enjoy something purely brilliant, this is it. A work of art. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/25/25 Full Review mark g What a truly great movie that works on so many different levels. Two characters different in practically every way, except that both are experiencing a complete loss of purpose in life. Both are in an existence state in which nothing truly resonates with either. As the saying goes, "misery loves company." However, in this film, company actually paves the way for purpose and happiness. This film stays with you a long time and will keep staying with you after repeated viewings. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/24/25 Full Review stephen m A reflective movie. Something you can watch alone with a glass of wine and join the characters in the little bubble of existence they share for a while. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/15/25 Full Review Read all reviews

Lost in Translation

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Most Popular at Home Now