Why 'Lost in Translation' Changed Who I Am

The first time I watched Lost in Translation was when I was 13 yrs old. I didn't get it and for a long time I thought it was shit. Little did I know that in a few years I'd be thanking Sofia Coppola for writing and directing a story that changed who I was.

SPOILER ALERT! 

The female protagonist in this movie is a young 20-something called Charlotte (would you believe ScarJo was 18 when she did this?!) who, shacked up in a hotel with her photographer husband, begins to feel increasingly lonely and lost in her life.

She meets an ageing has-been actor Bob Harris in a bar and they strike up a deeply profound friendship over the next few days, after which, they emotionally part ways for good.

So why does this film matter so much?

Well it was the first time I really saw a film about the characters rather than so much about the plot. And let's get real, nothing that much ACTUALLY happens. But it's the subtlety and depth of their loneliness and uncertainty about themselves, their purpose, their spouses that was...well...quite disarming.

Aside from that, here is a run down of all that it taught me:-

1. Don't Be Kelly. Be Honest. 

In this scene Charlotte and her husband bump into a young actress he knows called Kelly (Anna Farris in basically every character she's ever played). She's pretty, perky, full of pep. Full of something. She subtley blanks Charlotte and is rather superficial.

I was once A LOT like Kelly. So confident about everything but also kinda dumb I think. This scene taught me to just freaking relax and take in what people are actually like when you spend time with them.

2. Marvel at the World in Peace

As a teenage I associated travelling with full moon parties and other such debauchery. Life in my head was loud and dramatic. The scenes where Charlotte just wanders around Kyoto alone and quietly observes stuff going on around her made me see that travelling like this is just so much better.Just take in and make sense of what you've experiencing in your own way.

3. Listen to more French Indie/Arthouse Music

Another reason why this film is awesome is because it has a great soundtrack . This film introduced my ears to Phoenix, Air and Sebastien Tellier



4. It's Okay To Not Know What the F*ck You're Doing.



"The more you know who you are and what you want, the less you let things upset you"

This is the best scene in whole movie. Bob kind of tragically talks about his failing marriage whilst Charlotte is worried that in everything she tries her hand at, she's just mediocre (I can relate to this one).

 This one is the greatest lesson. It taught me it's okay to understand things but then equally not really know how you feel about it. That it's okay to pine for something better but not know what that better is exactly. In a way, that is the great experience of life. Working out what to do. As Bob says, "You're not hopeless."