12 Movies That Aren't As Pretentious As You Think
10. Lost In Translation
Sofia Coppola's 2003 drama has one common criticism (in addition to being called pretentious) - it's supposedly a movie where "nothing happens."
You'll hear this flaccid complaint levelled against a lot of low-key dramas starring A-list actors, as though character development and personal interaction can't be fine substitutes for "plot."
Many point fingers at the movie's elliptical ending, where Murray's depressed, boozy actor whispers unheard words into his teenage cohort's (Scarlett Johansson) ear, but agonising over that mystery is basically missing the point of the movie.
The words ultimately aren't important and can be anything you want them to be - but the characters sharing this intimate moment and departing to continue their lives is important (and, yes, sad).
If you can't appreciate the melancholy beauty in that, then that's a shame. Speaking from personal experience for a moment, it's definitely a film which benefits from being revisited at different stages in your own life.