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Lost in Translation
- Review Date: May 3, 2004
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 2003
Common Sense Media says
Excellent but mature film about finding a connection.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Lost in Translation shows many aspects of night life in Tokyo, including drinking and smoking. Characters also go to a strip club (where women are topless and wearing barely there G-strings and giving lap dances), get chased out of a bar with a fake gun, smoke pot before performing karaoke, and one character has an affair (with nothing shown). There's a little bit of strong language that includes "s--t."
What's the story?
LOST IN TRANSLATION centers on American movie star Bob (Bill Murray), who is in Tokyo to appear in whiskey ads, and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), an unemployed wife who is there with her photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi). Everything in Japan makes Bob and Charlotte feel out of place. Neither can get to sleep, and their bleary disorientation contrasts with the sensory overload of Tokyo. But it's not just their brains that are out of focus; it is their hearts and souls as well. Both have a lot of trouble connecting to others, both are in transition. Bob and Charlotte connect in a way they don't understand. But they do understand that it is precious to them to feel that way -- or just to feel. And they treat that feeling with touching delicacy. She takes him to a karaoke club. He takes her to the emergency room when she hurts her toe. They don't exchange life stories, discover that they love the same poem, or have any of the usual movie indicators that they are soul-mates. They just understand each other a little and like each other a little more. And that is a very nice thing to observe.
Is it any good?
Sofia Coppola (The Virgin Suicides) has written and directed a fascinating film that is less about a story than about the sights, the feelings, the moments, and the especially the connection between two Americans adrift in Tokyo.
The performances by Murray and Johansson are tender delights. Anna Faris (Scary Movie) is deliciously perfect as a starlet who has had too many people tell her how interesting she is. Coppola is a master of moments and details, and here they add up to a story that is beautifully bittersweet.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about why Bob and Charlotte are drawn to each other. What do they have in common? What is most different about them? Is their connection believable?
What do you think Bob whispers to Charlotte at the end?
Why do you think this movie was so critically acclaimed?
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- Teens & kids
Teen, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Blew me away....
I can say two words and I know everyone will be interested in what I have to say.....Bill Murray......Well, it turns my head anyway. When I first herd Murray was in this movie, I flushed. Murray in a serious, not comic, role. Something wasn't right. Sofia Coppola must have made a mistake. But he blew me away...the whole flim did. I was a flim that people who have been lost with themselves can relate to. Or, if you found some special in your life, but them have them taken off you, gone and never to be found again. The movie touched my heart and soul. Rarely that happens. It connected with me, you know? Thats why it is my favourite flim ever.
Best Wishes,
MovieFreak101
This flim is ok for: 15+
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Teen, 15 years old
June 15, 2010
AGE
This movie is great for teens, but kids will find it boring. I don't know why this site said it had strong language, there was almost none.
What other families should know:
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Teen, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Perfection
Lost in Translation is one of the most beautifully directed films of the past 10 years. It is filled with real human emotion that affects all our lives in different doses. Its long silent scenes are able to express such depth to the character's inner being without any words. It is not appropriate for young children but an intelligant 12 year old can get something special out of it. However, most teenagers will have trouble sitting though a piece they might find rather boring. Bill Murray gives one of the best performances of his career and Scarlett Johanson is able to hold her own with on of the very best modern actors. This is a movie that will stay with you for a long time to come and both adult and children a like can get something worth while out it.
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Educator and Parent of 9 and 14 year old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Absolutely loved it
Really wonderful acting by both Bill Murray and Scarlett Johanssen. If you've spent any time in the Far East on business or lived as an expat, you'll be in hysterics. This is an R movie and not for kids under 17.
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Teen, 15 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
An amazing movie! One of my very favorites.
And CSM's review on this film is totally wrong...did they watch the same movie I did? It's actually pretty clean for an R-rated film, there's one raunchy strip club scene but besides that it would definitely earn a PG-13 rating. They say it has very strong language but I bet there were less than 10 cuss words througout, and not one of them was the F-word. Wierd.
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Teen, 13 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
Beautiful flim
I might be 12, but i loved this flim. A beautiful masterpice. Well done.
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Teen, 16 years old
December 27, 2009
AGE
One of my favorite movies, OK for teens to watch.
Aside from brief nudity, this is a really 'clean' film. The R-rating is a bit absurd. Still, it's a slow, thoughtful movie that probably will bore kids - only mature teens and adults will appreciate it. I think it's one of the most beautiful, life-affirming movies ever made, although if you don't enjoy a good slow-paced movie you will probably dislike it.
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Kid, 12 years old
May 21, 2010
AGE
Boring? Mature? Innapropriate? What. The. Hell.!!!
This is a great movie but CSM is waay overreacting! In Australia this movie is PG for low level coarse language and sexual references! To say that this is for mature teens and adults only, and to say it contains very strong language is the stupidest statement ever!!
This is a heartfelt and humourous drama about loneliness, alienation, and feeling out of place in a foreign place. It is about the connection of two souls, two lost people having an amazing friendship, brought together by fate.
There was actually no swearing that I noticed, but I believe there was a few words like sh*t and a**, but nothing too graphic...the film starts with a closeup shot of a woman's bottom, in partially seethrough pink underwear, but this is not sexual. There is another scene in a Tokyo bar where music with obscene lyrics (Sucking on my t*tties etc.) is playing, and scantily clad women are poledancing on tables. The women's breasts are exposed, and they are wearing g-strings which show their entire bottoms. They dance sensually and in the faces of people sitting at the bar, but the nudity is from a distance and the scene is only brief.
Some less mature children may find it boring, but I didn't, and if you are mature, you should watch this and you will find a whole different meaning in this wonderful, wonderful film. :)
What other families should know:
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Teen, 14 years old
May 31, 2012
AGE
A big mistake on the MPAA's part.
My suggested MPAA rating: PG-13 for some smoking and a scene of nudity/sexual content.
SEX: 3.5/5 - ONE SCENE, and that's it! That's the only reason this got an R rating. Come on now. The scene lasts less than 40 seconds and entails Bill Murray entering a strip club while the song "F--k the Pain Away" by the Peaches plays.
LANGUAGE: 2/5 - We hear the song "F--k the Pain Away", as mentioned before, for about thirty-something seconds, and in that time the only swear word we hear is "t--ties". We don't even hear the title of the song used, and those who aren't familiar with the song won't connect the F-bomb to the film itself, because no one swears at any other point in the film.
DRINKING, DRUGS & SMOKING: 3/5 - Frequent smoking.
What other families should know:
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Teen, 13 years old
May 6, 2012
AGE
A great movie
One scene takes place at a strip club where a character is watching a topless dancer dancing in provocative positions. Other topless dancers can be spotted in the distance however there is no emphasis placed on them. The nudity is relatively brief as the scene is about a minute long. A prostitute shows up in a character's room, offering him a "premium fantasy" and demands the character to "lip [her] stockings". She reacts in a comically exaggerated manner as she pretends to be overpowered by him sexually by rolling around on the floor screaming for help. The scene is comedic and there is no emphasis on sexuality. It is implied that two characters share a one night stand.
What other families should know:
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| Studio: | Focus Features |
| Director: | Sofia Coppola |
| Cast: | Bill Murray, Giovanni Ribisi, Scarlett Johansson |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 102 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | September 12, 2003 |
| DVD release date: | February 2, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | some sexual content |
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