lost in translation



I got this poster... in Japanese


The more you know who you are and what you want, the less things upset you.
-Bob Harris, Lost in Translation


Of all the ironies, I went to see Lost in Translation yesterday in Shibuya... but there weren't any dinosaurs on the giant screen when I walked by it on the way to the theatre. [Yes, that is Shibuya Hachiko crossing in the poster background. Although, to be honest, that montage isn't exactly true to life.]

The movie was good, though somehow not as satisfying as I expected and slightly obnoxious in that "main characters are spoiled, rich brats" sort of way. However, I think my overall impression of the film was weakened simply because, as I expected, Tokyo is no "foreign" enough to be exotic in a way that is neccessary to the film. I imagine this is why I've heard that the Japanese can?t really "get into" the movie (although I bet bad subtitles and cultural references has a lot to do with it too). I liked it for a different reason. My perspective is a unique mishmash of insider/outsider and so I may, in the end, get more out of the movie than either Japanese or American.

You see, the Century Hyatt Hotel (called "Park Hyatt Hotel" in the movie for some reason) is four blocks from my house. I walk by it in the morning on the way to Shinjuku station. One night, five months ago, around two in the very drunken morning, I took the elevator to the 26th floor of the Hyatt and walked around the swimming pool. In fact, I'm planning to go have a drink at that bar sometime soon, if I can afford it.

Lost in Translation was released in America about two days before I left for Japan. Though I was well aware of its existence, I didn't see it for a lack of time. I'm not positive, but I think I'm glad that I didn't watch it before I left because it may have created for me a whole new slew of expectations that I don't think would have been. On the other hand, I might have peed myself with joy when on that first trip home, the bus drove by the "Park Hyatt." Who knows.

Let's talk about "translation." I don't know if any of the Japanese was subtitled in the American version but here in Tokyo it was not. Since regular Hollywood movies, like The Last Samurai released in Japan still subtitle the Japanese in English, it leads me to believe that the Japanese in Lost in Translation was meant to be taken as-is. Nevertheless, I understood about 98% of everything that was said. As much as any of the Japanese in the theatre or MORE, was mortified by the "translation" scene. While it is feasible that a professional translator could be so-so at English, I find it exceedingly hard to believe that one would be that bad. Then again, this is Japan...

I was also highly confused by the people in stores and at the hospital who insisted in speaking to Bob and Charlotte in rapid, fluent Japanese. If you?re a foreigner, that just doesn't happen. I have to WORK to get a salesperson to speak to me in Japanese even if I use it myself. In my case, the butchered English is more difficult to understand than the Japanese. If you recall the "hospital" scene from the movie, even the doctors seemed to think it necessary to speak to Bob and Charlotte as if they were Japanese natives. Yeah, um... riiiiight. But that's why it's fiction, yes?

The Japanese were by far more amused by the "what kind of restaurant makes you cook the food yourself" comment concerning Bob and Charlotte's "bad" shabu shabu lunch. This is because anyone with a grain of salt knows shabu-shabu tastes damn good even if you cook it yourself; which is an excruciatingly EASY process. Oh, and they wouldn't bring out two plates of meat like that-- you only get one even if it's "all you can eat."

While I'm being technical, I have a "beef" (yuk yuk) with the scene in the end where Bob flees the taxi to confront Charlotte. Taxi doors are automatic in Japan. If you touch the door handle to try and open or close the door yourself, the driver will scream at you. Don't try it. The drivers open the doors for you via a button in the front of the cab. That's just the way it is.

As stupid as it is, I have to mention that I was also mortified by the scene in the Hotel gym. Excuse me? Do they want to make it look like there are Elliptical Training machines only in Japan? And that these special, evil Japanese EFXes try to throw you off if you use them? No, I'm sorry? they only go that fast if you MAKE them, Mr. Whiskey Man. I didn't buy it at all.

Oh, and just "happening" to meet in a strip club like that? I don't think sooooo. Like it's free and easy to just walk in and see naked ladies? Not likely. I'd expect a hefty cover charge and that a white woman like Charlotte couldn't even get in the door by herself in mainstream Tokyo. In real life, I don't think anyone who ends up in a joint like that is surprised to be there unless HEAVILY intoxicated.

OK, I'm done talking about my problems with suspension of disbelief.

I thought the movie dialogue was interesting but not nearly as intense as I expected. Again, I think the edge was taken off the setting by my familiarity. However, I related quite directly to the predominant scene of being "lost" and "found." While I still think Charlotte is a bit of a snotty brat as a character, I can't really say any better of myself. When I came here I was about as messed up in the head as I could be... while I still pride myself on being crazy now, I'd like to think that it's in a good way.

What I mean is, though I came to Tokyo of my own volition, I was just as lost as Charlotte. I sat in my room, overwhelmed by everything outside my window (the exact same setting, as it were), too terrified to begin to understand. I loved the potential of Tokyo but I hated it. And I let it bother me because I didn't know anything about who I was or what I wanted. It sounds pretentious to say I do now, but I'd like to think I have a better idea.

Bob and Charlotte only had a few days in Tokyo and therefore Lost in Translation can only portray the Fresh Off Boat exoticism of Tokyo. It has nothing of the weeks that follow that first overwhelming novelty, fear and exaltation. I'm glad that it didn't try to make a story of that process because I think it's something too complicated and individualized to put into words and pictures... even in this journal, my own immersion is a jumbled mass of emotion.

As the movie takes place over a period of only a few days, it is fitting (I think) that it have a rather unresolved ending. It didn't need to be a story of love affair, divorce or enlightened epiphany. I liked that all those things were unsaid because it lent the plot a lot of credibility that it would have otherwise lacked. Life doesn't always work out... especially not in a three-day plot arc. Still, I think the movie ended in a good place. While I didn't leave the theatre feeling euphoric, I was still satisfied.

I took a good look at the (see above) movie poster on the wall outside the theatre and I realized I am the girl with the umbrella. I bought the poster as a reminder of my life here. Though this story isn't over yet, I honestly prefer my own resolution over that of Lost in Translation. I don't want to give away the ending... but I think I can say that being here and getting "lost" has actually caused me to find myself.

More than the dialogue or connotation of the story, I was intrigued by the images of Tokyo in Lost in Translation. They already give me a nostalgic feeling and I have two more months (only!) left here. If anything, this movie will make an excellent reminder of my time here. I expect that I will cry profusely throughout the entire film when I watch it after coming home.