Lost in Translation

Lost in Translation (2003) is a film by Sofia Coppola that explores the emotional distance of two Americans in Tokyo, Charlotte and Bob, who are both experiencing personal crises. Suzanne Ferriss analyzes the film's structure, filming, allusions to fine art, color palette, and use of music, and re-evaluates it in relation to Coppola's other features, arguing that it is a cinema classic and a classic Coppola.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 112 pages
Publication date: 09 March 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppola in 2003, brings together two Americans, Charlotte and Bob, in Tokyo, each facing personal crises. Charlotte, a recent philosophy graduate, grapples with an uncertain professional future, while Bob, an established celebrity, questions his choices at midlife. Both characters are emotionally and spatially distant from their spouses. Despite their initial isolation, they develop an intimate connection, but their journey ends in separation. Suzanne Ferriss delves into the intricacies of the film, exploring its structuring device of travel, the complexities of filming in Tokyo, Coppola's allusions to fine art, subtle color palette, and use of music over words. Ferriss also examines the characters' experiences at the Park Hyatt Tokyo and their excursions outside, both together and alone. She re-evaluates the film in relation to Coppola's other features, considering it a product of an established director with a distinctive cinematic signature known as 'Coppolism.' Ultimately, Ferriss argues that Lost in Translation is not only a cinema classic but a timeless masterpiece by Coppola.

Weight: 176g
Dimension: 134 x 190 x 8 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781839024917