“Lost in Translation” - Worst Kind of American Abroad (2 of 2)

Coppola has said that she made this film out of her love for Japan. This briefly comes through in Charlotte’s character. She visits a Japanese shrine in an attempt to explore Japanese culture. It is a lovely scene, but the moment is fleeting. Back in her hotel room, Charlotte immediately calls a friend back in the US and sobs that she didn’t feel anything when she saw the shrine.

Scenes like that demonstrate the most frustrating aspect of the movie -- the solipsism and utter self-centeredness of the characters. Bob and Charlotte reflect the worst kind of Americans abroad -- those who travel to other countries expecting to be catered to, entertained, or even rewarded with some kind of existential epiphany.

Although Bob and Charlotte are supposed to have some profound connection with each other, they seem to be bound more together by their alienation from Japanese culture, in an “us against them” mentality. They communicate through eye rolls and knowing glances, showing that only they understand how “crazy” everything is around them.

By the tenth shot of Bob or Charlotte mooning out a hotel window, or pensively lying in bed, one just wants to shake them, saying, “You’re lucky to be in such a beautiful place! Why don’t you just get out of the hotel already!” But aside from brief forays to sushi restaurants and the obligatory night of karaoke, Bob and Charlotte are content to stay wrapped in their insular relationship, in the confines of their hotel.

And in the same way, maybe most movie critics are content to accept the same narrow representations of Japanese culture that “Lost in Translation” offers us.