Jonathan Williams

JAFFA CAKES

SUPER FARNHAM ADVENTURE

                                     Can't reiterate enough how far this message needs to spread

JOKE

I would like to walk you through probably the most beautiful scene in Susan Coppolla's film "Lost in Translation". I am, of course, talking about the karaoke scene.

This scene takes place in a karaoke bar in Tokyo. Charlotte and Bob (Johansson and Murray) are exposing their desires, fears and loves through song.

Murray's character in this film is incredibly isolated; be it through distance from his wife or through his career collapsing around him. Yet he seems to take great pleasure in singing about it.
This scene is the first point in the movie where Charlotte (Johansson) sees Bob (Murray) as more than just a friendly companion in her own isolation. As she begins singing "I'm Special, So Special" she makes deep eye contact with Murray's character for only for a split second as the words "I'm special" are uttered from her mouth. Bob hesitates at first, but he can't help but pay her the attention she so desires, and mouths the words along with her.

However, Bob is past the stage of vieing for attention and it is obvious that she knows it.

Bob is in an entirely different place and Charlotte wrongly introduces his rendition of "More than this" as a humorous performance rife with irony and sarcasm.











The above stills show the change  in Charlotte as she realises that Bobs' singing is from the heart "There's nothing more than this, tell me one thing."









This is the moment that Bob and Charlotte fall in love. From this point the core of the movie is revealed. We are now watching a love story about two people so fed up of being isolated that they can't help but be with each other.


And the pink wig? I don't know what that means.



Relevant links
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0335266/
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/lost_in_translation/
http://www.metacritic.com/movie/lost-in-translation