Oscars 2003: If We Picked the Winners (Best Picture 2003)

5. Lost in Translation I feel a bit guilty putting this movie last, because I have the sneaking suspicion that if I watched it again, it would fare better than some of its fellow nominees. Having seen the film only once though, I have to judge it on my memory and how I felt at the time, thus the last place ranking. Now if your memory is a little fuzzy, or if you happened not to be a daily follower of the film industry at the time, then you probably don't remember the critical darling that was Lost in Translation. A small independent film (which is a little hard to swallow seeing that it stars Bill Murray and is directed by Francis Ford Coppola's daughter, Sophia) that made its name during the late summer by making the rounds on the festival circuit, the buzz for the film quickly grew across all of moviedom like wild fire through Ventura County, CA. Before you knew it, the critics had already filled in their one allotted Best Picture slot that they seem to be granted every year. Unfortunately, I was not able see the film in theaters, which meant before I was able to make an unbiased opinion for myself, the film came with great expectations. By the time I rented it and finally got to see the the film with my own two eyes, it was fighting a losing battle. Unless Sophia Coppola was able to match some of her father's best work, which it most certainly didn't, the film was bound to disappoint. Set in Japan, the film explores the unlikely relationship between an older, cantankerous sell-out of an actor (Bill Murray) and a young newly wed (Scarlett Johansson) who is already starting to feel buyer's remorse. The film deals with themes such as isolation and existential ennui, two topics that usually fascinate me but for whatever reason, didn't click in this movie. The laborious effort of the film to illustrate the feelings of boredom and alienation become maddeningly obvious, just as it moments of happiness try too hard to encapsulate every ounce of the meaning of "care-free". Coppola's 2010 film, Somewhere, covered very similar topics (although from the father-daughter perspective) and also had a very plodding pace, but it is one of my favorite's of this very young decade. I would like then to give this film another chance at some point, because I think I may appreciate what it tries to do a bit more, as of now though, it is a boring attempt to make meaning out of boredom.