Lost in Translation

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Lost in Translation

R

2003

1h 42m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

234 Reviews

85%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

A lonely, aging movie star named Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and a conflicted newlywed, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), meet in Tokyo. Bob is there to film a Japanese whiskey commercial; Charlotte is accompanying her celebrity-photographer husband. Strangers in a foreign land, the two find escape, distraction and understanding amidst the bright Tokyo lights after a chance meeting in the quiet lull of the hotel bar. They form a bond that is as unlikely as it is heartfelt and meaningful.

Critics Consensus

Effectively balancing humor and subtle pathos, Sofia Coppola crafts a moving, melancholy story that serves as a showcase for both Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

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Rania Richardson

AV Club

02/14/2024

3.5/4

The culture has shifted in the two decades since Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson bonded in a Tokyo hotel for LOST IN TRANSLATION, one of Sophia Coppola's best.

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Adam Nayman

The Ringer

09/29/2023

Just like the final words of Sofia Coppola’s film, the best parts of the movie are left indecipherable...

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Joshua Rothkopf

In These Times

03/16/2020

...its pretty images of Tokyo and oddball intergenerational friendship coalesce into something unexpectedly moving...

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Fico Cangiano

CineXpress Podcast

03/27/2025

4.5/5

More than two decades later, this is still Sofia Coppola's best film. An exquisite dramedy that stays with you long after the credits roll. [Full review in Spanish]

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Adam Smith

Radio Times

08/08/2024

5/5

[The] backdrop of night-time Tokyo as an alien landscape against which the couple delicately explore each other's ambiguous feelings, this talented young director has produced a sad, funny, magical and almost irresistibly moving experience.

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Sean Axmaker

Stream on Demand

04/08/2023

Sofia Coppola’s sophomore film is another exploration of delicate relationships and uncommunicated frustrations, this one in a beautifully composed atmosphere of isolation.

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Tom

Feb 11

absolutely love this film

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Jennifer B

Feb 10

Slow-moving, boring movie.

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Fiona H

@FionaHayden 2d

Lost in Translation is a quiet and beautifully crafted film about connection, loneliness and finding comfort in unexpected places. The performances feel natural and the conversations carry a sense of authenticity that makes the relationship at the center of the story feel deeply human and relatable.

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Vixo S

@vixo_six Jun 9

Lost in Translation is a quiet study of loneliness, intimacy and the strange comfort of being understood by someone who barely belongs to your life. Sofia Coppola follows Bob and Charlotte as two people surrounded by comfort, success or youth, yet emotionally adrift. Their bond is not treated as a conventional romance, but as a brief recognition between two forms of emptiness. Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray sustain the film through restraint, silence and small gestures. Their performances make the connection feel fragile, private and impossible to fully explain. The final whisper captures the film's central idea: some emotions matter precisely because they cannot be translated into words. The film is not perfect, but its honesty makes it linger. It understands that temporary encounters can still change how we see our own solitude.

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R T.

@RT72302955 Jun 8

Beautiful movie. I really love the way it’s so real.

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Chris S

@OK-Lobster May 28

This film is simply beautiful in so many ways.

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Sofia Coppola

Director

Bill Murray

Bob Harris

Scarlett Johansson

Charlotte

Giovanni Ribisi

John

Anna Faris

Kelly

Fumihiro Hayashi

Charlie

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Synopsis

A lonely, aging movie star named Bob Harris (Bill Murray) and a conflicted newlywed, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), meet in Tokyo. Bob is there to film a Japanese whiskey commercial; Charlotte is accompanying her celebrity-photographer husband. Strangers in a foreign land, the two find escape, distraction and understanding amidst the bright Tokyo lights after a chance meeting in the quiet lull of the hotel bar. They form a bond that is as unlikely as it is heartfelt and meaningful.

Director: Sofia Coppola
Producer: Sofia Coppola, Ross Katz
Screenwriter: Sofia Coppola
Distributor: Focus Features
Production Co: Elemental Films, American Zoetrope
Rating: R (Some Sexual Content)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Sep 19, 2003, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 15, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $44.6M
Runtime: 1h 42m
Sound Mix: Surround