for relaxing times, make it suntory time.

I finally saw Lost in Translation, which I'd been eager to do, since there are a few people on my flist who are great fans of it (*glances in maria_futura's direction*).

Overall, I liked it. A high degree of realism and detail, which are usually what speak to me in any story, filmed or not. The sense of unaffected *perception* is almost reminiscent of Mike Leigh's direction at times -- small things like the alternating sounds of muted underwater and music abovewater when Bob is swimming. There isn't an excess of dialogue in the movie; scenes are allowed to speak for themselves without being rushed, and the characters are allowed to communicate through action and expression. I like the everyday nature of their dialogue, their awkwardness, their inarticulateness relative to characters in most movies.

The thing this movie absolutely nails is the sensation of a short trip to a place you've never been. The way each day has a character of its own, even while the days somehow blend together to form The Trip. There's the aspect of exploration, mapping out new territory, and then the inevitable *repetitiveness* of being the tourist, going down the same elevator every day, starting to feel like the street between the hotel and that sushi bar *is* your territory, at least for the time being.

The whole movie has a certain quality of memory -- some things are glossed over or forgotten, others are lingered over in vivid detail. That adds greatly to the sense that this is a hinge-point in these people's lives -- you imagine them looking back on it, without it taking you out of the moment.

( more analysis )

*

( American Idol spoilers )

*

( Survivor spoilers )

for relaxing times, make it suntory time.

I finally saw Lost in Translation, which I'd been eager to do, since there are a few people on my flist who are great fans of it (*glances in maria_futura's direction*).

Overall, I liked it. A high degree of realism and detail, which are usually what speak to me in any story, filmed or not. The sense of unaffected *perception* is almost reminiscent of Mike Leigh's direction at times -- small things like the alternating sounds of muted underwater and music abovewater when Bob is swimming. There isn't an excess of dialogue in the movie; scenes are allowed to speak for themselves without being rushed, and the characters are allowed to communicate through action and expression. I like the everyday nature of their dialogue, their awkwardness, their inarticulateness relative to characters in most movies.

The thing this movie absolutely nails is the sensation of a short trip to a place you've never been. The way each day has a character of its own, even while the days somehow blend together to form The Trip. There's the aspect of exploration, mapping out new territory, and then the inevitable *repetitiveness* of being the tourist, going down the same elevator every day, starting to feel like the street between the hotel and that sushi bar *is* your territory, at least for the time being.

The whole movie has a certain quality of memory -- some things are glossed over or forgotten, others are lingered over in vivid detail. That adds greatly to the sense that this is a hinge-point in these people's lives -- you imagine them looking back on it, without it taking you out of the moment.

( more analysis )

*

( American Idol spoilers )

*

( Survivor spoilers )