ROTTEN TOMATOES: The Secret of the Lost in Translation Whisper Unlocked

The Secret of the Lost in Translation Whisper Unlocked

You can't keep anything from us, Bill Murray!

by Jeff Giles | December 14, 2007

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Ah, the wonders of technology. First it gives us the remote control, then the Roomba -- and now, it's been used to solve one of the most impenetrable riddles in all of modern cinema.

Yes, film fans, we're talking about just what exactly Bill Murray whispers to Scarlett Johansson at the end of Lost in Translation. Thanks to YouTube user Vid22 and the magic of digital audio processing, no longer must we be tormented by this mystery.

As Slashfilm's Peter Sciretta reports, Translation director Sofia Coppola has always maintained that Murray's whisper was unscripted, and that only he and Johansson knew what was said -- and good luck getting it out of either of them. Well, now the secret's just a YouTube video away!

There. Aren't you glad you found out?

Source: Slashfilm

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Critic:	Peter Sciretta
Celeb:	Bill Murray
	Sofia Coppola
	Scarlett Johansson

(1-20 of 48 posts) | Reply

zachdybs writes:
on Dec 14 2007 07:44 AM

interesting.
but now i feel a little dirty for having listened to their secret.

and its just a movie.
but its one of my all time favorites.

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Dr. Hanso writes:
on Dec 14 2007 07:45 AM

The ending still sucks.

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Dr. Hanso writes:
on Dec 14 2007 07:45 AM

The ending still sucks. Nice work, though.

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Baccus83 writes:
on Dec 14 2007 07:46 AM

The ending's brilliant, and it's interesting to hear what he actually says - but all the same entirely beside the point. I mean, there's a reason Sofia Coppola decided to keep it from us.

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cowzilla3 writes:
on Dec 14 2007 07:49 AM

Not happy at all, totally ruined the open edning there.

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puablo writes:
on Dec 14 2007 07:57 AM

Interesting indeed. I think I actually kinda like it.

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RBatty024 writes:
on Dec 14 2007 08:00 AM

It's actually a damn good line. It has a Zen koan quality that you find throughout the film. I always think of the movie through Zen terms, so this works within that context. Of course, just because that's what Bill Murray said doesn't mean that's what the character said.

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laika86 writes:
on Dec 14 2007 08:03 AM

The ending is so great because of the ambiguity.

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LordVapor writes:
on Dec 14 2007 08:18 AM

makes a lot of sense actually. always thought that it was bullcrap if they wouldnt have ended up together, because they were obviously in love, and life is too short.....although, we all know that just cause two peope love each other and should belong together, doesn't make it fact.....

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iankusc writes:
on Dec 14 2007 08:40 AM

Sometimes Technology is the problem and not the solution. This is like the tacked on "Special Edition" of Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. Some things are just better left to the imagination.

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Novastar. writes:
on Dec 14 2007 08:43 AM

Bill Murray you old dog!

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bethehero7404 writes:
on Dec 14 2007 09:28 AM

great film...so now what, are we going to find out what was in that suitcase in Pulp Fiction now? Geeze.

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tomwaitsjr writes:
on Dec 14 2007 09:49 AM

The soul of the ving rhames character was in the suitcase.

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blinkybrown writes:
on Dec 14 2007 10:20 AM

Definitely prefer thinking it all just ended with the kiss. That line changes the film entirely. It wasn't meant to be heard.

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Prosper761 writes:
on Dec 14 2007 10:41 AM

Still the single most overrated movie ever made. Sophia Coppola should put down her camera for good. Between this and "Marie Anroinette," I lost 4 hours of my life that I'll never get back.

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clamman27 writes:
on Dec 14 2007 11:14 AM

Who the hell cares? At the end of the day its still one of the most over-rated, over-analyzed movies of recent years. And no, Bill Murray didn't deserve an Oscar for this. Neither did Sofia. But again, who cares? What's done is done. LiT fanatics will whine oh you just don't get it, it's a beautiful character study... blah blah. Over rated.

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malaguy writes:
on Dec 14 2007 11:19 AM

nice work, but the movie still blows my *** harder than any other over-indulgent pretentious piece of **** movie out there.

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justice_rehnquist writes:
on Dec 14 2007 11:57 AM

Lost in Translation was a great film. For the first time in contemporary cinema, two adult characters were depicted as behaving responsibly toward each other in spite of their demonstrable love and appreciation for each other. Any other hack director would have had the characters have sex together and engage in this ultra-passionate temporary affair. Sofia Coppola wrote these characters as intelligent and aware of their moral obligations to refrain from infidelity (although Murray's character did sleep with the red-headed lounge singer). By contrast, Murray's respect and deep love for Johannsen's character restrained him from violating the bond of fidelity with his wife.

Johannsen's character was in a marriage manifested by neglect, while Murray's character was in a marriage that was suffering from a loss of mutual spousal effort to maintain genuine romance and heartfelt communication.

This film is great and the unrevealed whisper at the end brought a heightened sense of satisfaction and empathy.

If you want stereotypical, melodramatic cheating spouses with little or no genuineness, rent Todd Field's "Little Children." This film felt like a 2-hour noontime soap opera.

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lambman writes:
on Dec 14 2007 01:42 PM

can somebody just quote the line in their reply? I am sure I am not the only one at school/work where youtube content is blocked

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TheNextReel writes:
on Dec 14 2007 01:56 PM

Umm...I thought the last part of the line was clearly "call your husband and tell him that you love him." I thought the first part was just the mystery.

If that is the line, I don't like it at all. Hell, it's a goodbye scene; Not an "I'll call you..." scene.

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