Lost in Translation
There isn't much of a stroy in this film. It is just a guy and a woman meet in Tokyo and fall in love... that's all.
So why did the film got the Oscar? Because it has a unique perspective about Japan. Well, it is unique but still
it is the Western perspective alone, so I am not sure if people from China, India, or Africa can enjoy this film.
Anyway, the experiences they encounter in Japan are very similar to the Westerners in Japan experience, so
I believe the director or somebody who made this film have lived in Japan for some time. Otherwise the dictor has
a very good sense.
This fim is very interesting, however, it is seen Japan in one limited perspective, so I assume only limited people
can enjoy. Especially, the Westerners in Japan must love this. Also, even Japanese like me enjoyed some scenes.
For example, when they went to Yakiniku (beef barbecue restaurant), the guy said 'What kind of restaurant makes you
cook your own food!'. This is something we, Japanese, never think of, so it was very refreshing, and I think it is good
to know things that we think are natural.
There were some things that weren't anything like Japan. I still can't understand when they went to a bar or a club with
their Japanese friends, and suddenly the owner or master of the place started to schoo BB gun and chased them...
I have no idea what was going on. Does anybody know? If so, please let me know! Also, in an elevator, there was a woman
who was going to funeral had a big smile on her face... It was very strange to me, and couldn't understand why it was necessary.
These little things seem weird in this film, but in the film 'Kill Bill', surprisingly those things are not seen as strange or anything.
Its location is in Japan, well you can say not in Japan. It is not the Japan you see through the Western perspective but it is
a collection of images based on information you can get in the West. If you see the film, there are many parodies of well known
Japanese films.
These two films use Japan, but they do not use real Japan. Lost in Translation uses a perspective from the Western eyes, and
Kill Bill uses images available outside of Japan. I think those two are very unique and I say they are enjoyable film. (Although,
I cannot deny that Kill Bill is a little bit too bloody...)
The more the two films get popular, the less information of real Japan vanish I feel. Images go faster than reality does. Images
becomes the reality: Hyper reality. Although thouse films are well sold, I hope more people see films like Tokyo Story, which
tells better about Japan.
