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Home » Music And Movies Articles » Lost In Translation Makes The Meaning Of Life Sound Elusive

"Lost in Translation" Makes the Meaning of Life Sound Elusive

Lost in Translation ' 2 Stars (Average)

"Lost in Translation" was written and directed by Sofia Coppola and won enough awards to fill a grocery cart.

The independent film earned Sofia Coppola an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay and also had 2003 Oscar nominations for Best Picture (won by "The Lord of the Rings, the Return of the King", bad timing for Sofia), Best Director (won by Peter Jackson for Lord of the Rings) and Bill Murray as Best Actor (won by Sean Penn in "Mystic River").

Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" lost the same nomination as Murray. I would have voted for Johnny Depp as Best Actor rather than Sean Penn.

Sofia Coppola's creation also won Golden Globe awards for Best Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Actor (Bill Murray), and earned nominations for Best Director and Best Actress (Scarlett Johansson).

The Oscar win was among 70 wins and 58 more nominations. To say Sofia Coppola's creation was lauded by the critics would be a huge understatement.

Seeing this film, I would not have guessed it would have won so many awards.

Sofia Coppola wrote the lead role specifically for Bill Murray, and later said that if Murray turned it down, she would have scrapped the project.

She was nothing if not persistent in recruiting Murray for the role. In 1999, Murray apparently replaced his talent agency with a voice mailbox and an 800 number he gives out sparingly.

Coppola reportedly left hundreds of messages before Murray finally called back to discuss her offer to cast him as the star. Coppola apparently knows something about selecting actors who win awards.

Lost in Translation follows Bob Harris (Bill Murray), a fading American film actor with a humdrum marriage, who is in Tokyo to do a Japanese whiskey commercial. He meets Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), a recently college graduate in philosophy and the bored wife of a photographer doing a shoot in Tokyo.

They develop an unlikely friendship when the language barrier, Japanese culture and their own discontent surfaces. When it is time for them to resume their normal lives, leaving becomes difficult.

I give Sofia Coppola a lot of credit for not writing into the script a sexual relationship between the two. In Hollywood this would be like taking the financier's money and not worshipping at his or her feet.

Coppola had it her way because this independent film cost only $4 million to make, was filmed in 27 days and grossed $44.5 million at last count.

The opening of the film has a lingering shot of Scarlett Johansson (as Charlotte) lying in bed sideways in her panties. Johansson was apparently reluctant to film the shot until Sofia Coppola modeled the panties herself.

Thankfully, this opening was not a precursor to the film, which sought to explore a more important issue: the meaning of life. As two unhappy individuals in their roles, both Murray and Johansson struggle to find real meaning in their current circumstances.

What happens in their exploration is really nothing special. As a viewer I was waiting to see where their relationship was going because they came to no conclusions together, or on their own.

Therein is why I gave this film an average rating rather than a good or excellent rating. I wanted real substance in this film that I could relate to in my everyday life, and I was left wanting.

How odd is it that Bob and Charlotte never introduce themselves to each other despite spending days together contemplating their mutual miserable situations? This makes no sense to me whatsoever, and does not ring true in real life.

Despite winning an Oscar for her original screenplay, Sofia Coppola does not give the substance I expect. Hollywood pours out awards for her effort, and to me it only reflects why Hollywood is called Tinseltown, all show, confusion and stress without real substance.

Ultimately, both characters are seeking meaning in their lives.

One viewer wrote this about the film, "Overall the film is just perfect. The acting, the direction, the soundtrack, plot, themes, humor, visuals . . . what's not to like?"

What's not to like is this: People who seek true love seldom find it. People who seek the perfect mate never find the perfect mate. People who seek to find the true meaning of life seldom find it.

The reason is simple: you do not bring meaning to your life by seeking meaning in your life, you bring meaning to your life by giving meaning to your life. Life does not come to you, you come to life, or you become an unhappy, dissatisfied person.

When we blame others we give up our ability to change.

Lost in Translation has some great scenes of Tokyo, but like pictures in a photo album, they only reflect the meaning you bring to them.

Copyright © 2007 Ed Bagley

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Debt Help & Advice - How To Be Debt Free In 5 Years!

If you have in excess of £15000 of debt you may qualify for an IVA and be clear of debt in just 60 months.

IVA - Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions regarding IVA's (Individual Voluntary Arrangement's)

An IVA is a legally binding arrangement supervised by a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner, the purpose of which is to enable an individual, sole trader or Partner ("the Debtor") to reach a compromise with his creditors and avoid the consequences of bankruptcy. The compromise should offer a larger repayment towards the creditor's debt than could otherwise be expected were the Debtor to be made bankrupt. This is often facilitated by the Debtor making contributions to the arrangement from his income over a designated period or from a third party contribution or other source that would not ordinarily be available to a Trustee in Bankruptcy

Who Can Benefit From an IVA

An IVA is available to all individuals, Sole Traders and Partners who are experiencing creditor pressure and it is used particularly by those who own their own property and wish to avoid the possibility of losing it in the event they were made bankrupt.

It is also often used by sole traders and Partners who have suffered problems with their business but wish to secure its survival as they believe it will be profitable in the future which will enable them to make a greater repayment to creditors than could otherwise be expected were they made bankrupt and the business consequently cease trading.

The Procedure in Brief

In theory it is envisaged that the Debtor drafts proposals for presentation to his creditors prior to instructing a Nominee, (who must be a Licensed Insolvency Practitioner), to review them before submission to court and then to the creditors.

In practice the Nominee draws up the proposal upon the information provided by the Debtor and submits these to court with his comments on the merits of the proposals with a view to obtaining an Interim Order.

An Interim Order is an order made by court precluding creditors from taking any action against the Debtor whilst a meeting of creditors is called and held to decide whether the proposals are acceptable to them or not.

Following the granting of the Interim Order the Nominee will circulate to creditors the following information:-

 The Nominee's comments on the debtor's proposals

 The Proposals

 Notice of the date and location of the meeting of creditors to vote on the proposals

 A Statement of Affairs this effectively being a list of the assets and liabilities of the Debtor

 A schedule advising creditors of the requisite majority required to approve the IVA

 A complete list of creditors

 A guide to the fees charged by the Supervisor following approval of the IVA

A form of proxy for voting purposes

The creditors meeting is held not earlier than following 14 clear days notice after the above has been circulated to creditors. The purpose of the meeting of creditors is to agree or reject the Debtor's proposals with or without modifications which can be requested by creditors at the meeting. Acceptance of the proposals requires 75% in value of those creditors who vote either in person or by proxy at the meeting.

Please note that the 75% relates only to those who actually vote and assuming the creditors receive notice of the proposals, all will be bound by the terms of the arrangement whether they voted or not.

Upon approval of the IVA, a Supervisor is appointed (usually the Nominee) to ensure the proposals are adhered to and to distribute the dividends to creditors.

Assuming the debtor complies with the terms of the arrangement, upon completion of the IVA he will be fully discharged from all liabilities included within it.

Key Components for a Successful IVA

 The IVA must offer a higher return to creditors than could otherwise be expected were the Debtor to be made bankrupt.

 An honest declaration of your assets and/or anticipated future earnings should be made. Material or false declarations are likely to result in the subsequent failure of the IVA.

Advantages of an IVA

Individual, Sole Trader or Partner

 Enables a Sole Trader or Partner to continue to trade and generate income towards repayment to creditors which would otherwise have a call upon the personal assets of the individual.

 No restrictions as regards personal credit although in practice can prove difficult to obtain.

 The proposals are drawn up by the Debtor and are entirely flexible to accommodate personal circumstances. An example of this may be to exclude the Debtor's property from the IVA assuming the Debtor can adequately satisfy creditors that the outcome would be better for them by agreeing to this than could otherwise be expected if a bankruptcy order was made.

 The Debtor does not suffer the restrictions imposed by bankruptcy, such as not being able to act as a director of a limited company etc.

Creditors

 The costs of administering an IVA are considerably lower than in bankruptcy, enabling a higher return to creditors.

 IVA's operate as an insolvency procedure and creditors can as a consequence of this, still reclaim tax and VAT relief as a bad debt.

Disadvantages of an IVA

 Where contributions from income are being made, IVA's are generally expected to be for a period longer than that in bankruptcy, i.e. 5 years as opposed to 3 years. The 5-year period is often required by creditors as a bargain for allowing the Debtor to avoid the consequences of bankruptcy.

 If the Debtor fails to comply with the terms of the arrangement his home and assets can still be at risk if they have not been specifically excluded from the proposals.

 If the IVA fails as a consequence of the Debtor not meeting his obligations under it, it likely that the Debtor will be made bankrupt at this time.

 There will be no opportunity for a Trustee in Bankruptcy to investigate the actions of the Debtor or possibility of hidden assets.

For more information then visit: http://www.chasesaunders.co.uk