10 Ways In Which Her And Lost In Translation Are Connected To Each Other
This is not just about how similar one movie is to the other. These movies, both directed by each halves of the same broken marriage, feel intrinsically connected...
Her has been out for a few weeks now and has received lots of praise from critics. It collected five Academy Award nominations last week, including one for Best Picture, and it's a film that people are still talking about. What's most remarkable about the film is just how personal it feels and, as soon as I saw the movie, I could not help but think of it as a "response film" to Sofia Coppola's 2003 film Lost in Translation. I did not explore this thought at first because I did not want to take anything away from the movie itself. However, after watching Lost in Translation again and seeing other articles pop up that talk about their similarities, I felt I could no longer ignore this idea. This is not just about how similar one movie is to the other, although I do go over that in this article. These movies feel intrinsically connected. They're very much on the same wavelength. They explore a lot of the same ideas. This all makes sense since Spike Jonze and Sofia Coppola were married from 1999 to 2003 and had been together for many years before that. When you're with someone for that long, they will naturally have a huge impact on your life, and it's incredibly difficult to forget about them. I think that's where Her comes from. Sofia Coppola had already made her big personal statement in regards to love and marriage right when the couple was on the verge of divorce; Her would be Spike Jonze's answer to those feelings. What makes it even more poignant is that Her never feels resentful or petty. It feels more like a legitimate apology. It's an acknowledgement that, in the end, some people aren't meant to be with each other in the long run. Some people do grow apart. Lost in Translation is about a couple on the verge of growing apart, Her is about finally letting go of the person you've grown apart with and moving on. But before we get too deep into these films' meanings, let's take a closer look at their similarities and connections...