Sofia Coppola married filmmaker Spike Jonze (director of Being John Malkovich) in 1999. Back in the real world (which is a hair's breadth away from the ones Jonze and Coppola have created) we know the answer, but it's a strangely wonderful experience seeing things progress for each protagonist. Lost in Translation also made a star of Scarlett Johansson. Both movies ask how two people who shared such an intimate part of their lives together could ever grow apart, and what to do when that situation finally comes along. They need an intellectual connection in their lives, and that's where Bob/Samantha comes in. Both protagonists have had sex, but it left them unsatisfied. When Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) meets with his ex-wife Catherine (Rooney Mara) for lunch and divorce papers, the things she says about Theodore's emotional shortcomings could be cut-and-pasted into a conversation between Charlotte and John.Īs for the threads that bind these films even closer together: another parallel is way they handle sex without making it physical. Theodore and Samantha latch on to each other in a lonely city, in the end they both grow in ways that make their relationship difficult to maintain, and they go separate, ambiguous ways. 'Her', is said to be his response to their breakup. Apparently 'Lost in Translation', is partly a message directed at Spike Jonze, Sofia Coppolas ex-husband. What's intriguing, however, is that this short summary could easily be applied to Her if told from a male perspective with the marriage in a past tense. The whole movie is about him getting over his divorce from Sofia Coppola, who directed Lost in Translation. They were there for each other during a time when they desperately needed a human connection, and now that time is over, and they can move on. It's a little bittersweet, but it's the way of life. The only attraction is intellectual, and in the end they both go their separate ways. As she navigates the foreign streets of Tokyo, she meets aged movie star Bob (Bill Murray) and strikes up a natural friendship with him. ![]() Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) is in an unsatisfying marriage with her husband, a music video director named John (Giovanni Ribisi). Lost in Translation follows the short-lived relationship of two lonely people who come together as friends to avoid the reality of being completely alone. But all history aside, these movies connect on a deeper level. It's pretty clear from the first viewing which film came closest chronologically to the divorce, as LIT is much more raw and, at times, bitter about the fact, while Her is a reflection on the failings of both parties involved. It's too easy to call Her the counterpart to Lost in Translation, both are unique accomplishments that should stand out and could stand alone for their near-perfect screenplays and fresh perspectives, there's a sad beauty in pairing them together.įor context, Jonze and Coppola were married in 1999 (although they had been together for several years before that) and divorced in 2003, which was also the year Lost in Translation was released. However, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation nearly does this already with Spike Jonze's Her as they both take a look inside the directors' failed marriage. Watching the two films back-to-back is a great experience.Later this year The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby will be released, offering a fresh take on the modern relationship by presenting both sides of the story: His and Hers. ![]() ![]() It is worth noting that the film, on some levels, dialogues with Spike Jonze's drama Her, as Coppola and Jonze were married at the time and the director has said more than once that she was a "model wife" - the same situation as Scarlett Johansson's character. From this emptiness, the director plays with the possibilities of meetings and partings, joys and sorrows, losses and recoveries. ![]() She is the "model wife" of a photographer. He is a fading actor who takes a job doing a commercial for a drink. This is all seen through the relationship between Murray and Johansson's characters, who are spending time in Tokyo, Japan. Starring Bill Murray (Ghostbusters) and a young Scarlett Johansson (Black Widow), the film captures feelings of loneliness, sadness, isolation, and that strange sense of not belonging. Lost in Translation, the highly successful movie by filmmaker Sofia Coppola which won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and was nominated for Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Picture, is certainly deserving of its accolades.
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