Bob Harris Lost In Translation

‘Lost in Translation’ navigates global spaces
★ ★ ★ ★
Sofia Coppola’s ‘Lost in Translation’ surrounds the experiences of Bob Harris and Charlotte, American tourists in Tokyo. Transcending the expectations of its romantic comedy genre, it delves into something much deeper; the overwhelming impact of globalisation on both the local and individuals.
Bob Harris is a Hollywood actor whose faltering career has led him to accept an offer to shoot a commercial for Suntory Whiskey while Charlotte is in Tokyo for her husband’s work as a photographer. Both characters are established with a lack of connectedness to both their surroundings and people around them, whether it be the Japanese, or their spouses. With Bob’s wife, Lydia, communicating through
The chaotic Tokyo cityscape juxtaposes a still Charlotte, sitting in the hotel window when she can’t sleep at night; representative of the jet lag that she struggles with when navigating the global while her husband contrastingly sleeps soundly, showing an embracement while Charlotte retreats. Coppola conveys a distinct disconnection in this scene, both to her sleeping husband, unaware and unconcerned that she is wide awake, and the city that she doesn’t interact with; presenting the audience with an interesting confrontation when considering globalisation, are we ‘living’ or so disconnected that we simply participate? This seems to be a source of Charlotte’s disengagement, as even when given opportunities to interact with fellow Americans, remaining detached, frustrating John when she mocks Kelly saying ‘why do you have to point out how dumb everyone is all the time?’ Bob does this too, through dismissing his two American fans at the bar which simultaneously emphasises the meaningfulness of Charlotte and Bob’s connection, given that they’re both so seemingly selective, and globalisation through him not being able to escape his local fame and fans in the global
Her publicity interview is reflective of both her superficiality and how the local Japanese knowledge, values and cultures have become global when, in an effort to appeal to the Japanese media she is responding to, she ignorantly discusses reincarnation and its relationship with her film ‘Midnight Velocity’.
‘Lost in Translation’ simultaneously conveys a range of responses to globalisation and the changing reality it presents, with Charlotte’s husband John scoffing at the band he photographed that day and how they were made to look like the Rolling Stones while the women practicing ikebana maintain their cultural traditions as well as allowing Western intervention through appreciation of the art, not subversion.
Retreatment and embracement of globalisation is embodied in Bob Harris through accepting to do the Suntory advertisement for two million dollars but commenting that he “should be doing a play”; creating a divide for the character, who feels that rejection of the globalisation, would be more fulfilling. This concept is subtle throughout the film, but exists, that in a World so ‘full’, it’s easy to become