Wednesday, September 23, 2009

"Lost in Translation" Film Analysis Report


Summary and Analysis

Bob is a movie star that he went to Tokyo to film a whisky advertisement. He faced culture shock in Tokyo, and he even did not know what the director of advertising tried to guide him. Every midnight, he just cannot fell asleep. Charlotte stayed in the same hotel as Bob with her husband, Harris, a busy and workaholic photographer, and not only cannot understand Japanese language but also cannot get used to the Japanese culture just like Bob did. Charlotte became unsure about her future and the man she married. One night she met Bob in the bar of the hotel where they built up their friendship.
They hung around in Tokyo streets together, and experienced the differences between American and Japanese culture. A subtle affection gradually developed between them. One night, Bob hook up with the resident vocalist of the hotel bar and slept with her. Conflict is generated since next morning Charlotte saw Bob naked and heard the vocalist was singing in his room. But later that night, because of a fire alarm, they realized how they miss each other and reconciled finally.
Bob finished his work and had to return back to America next morning. On his departure in the way to airport, he saw Charlotte walked on a crowded street alone. He got off his car and ran to Charlotte, and then he embraced her in whisper. Bob kissed and expressed his emotion to Charlotte and then departed.

Relation to Case Study

In case study 12, Dita suffered from culture shock when she went to college in the United State. She did not like the American food, cannot understand the professor's lecture in the class, and cannot make American friends because of totally different customs. The same situation was happened between Bob and Charlotte, they cannot get used to the surroundings in Tokyo. They did not know Japanese language and cannot adapt to the instruments in the hotel and the different lifestyle.

Reaction to Film

I like this movie because it not only talks about the culture shock but also the subtle affection between people. People go to different country will face the different lifestyle and language barrier. Everything seems so hard to get used to it, so it is important to make friends experiencing those difficulties together. By this way, we will not feel lonely in foreign country and will have positive attitude toward our problems. Just like Bob and Charlotte experienced the differences between Japanese and American culture together, Dita should make some friends either from her home country or foreign country.

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