Thursday, September 08, 2005

Ships that pass in the night

the ambience was set....I sat huddled up on the carpet with those fabIndia cushions for comfort n leaned against the sofa, a cuppa ginger tea in one hand and the remote in another, I pressed 'Play'.

only then I realized that Charlotte also sits huddled up except that she is in a luxurious suite of the Hyaat n I'm at home.(question to self :Is sitting huddled up a sign of loneliness???)
for the next hour and a half I was totally Lost in 'Lost In Translation' - awesome! is the apt word for this movie but all u happy-n-in-love ppl might find it an absolute drab piece of work because it is set at the same pace as any Shabana Azmi/Smita Patil movies of the 80s.

Loneliness is something so difficult to capture on screen and I think Sophia Coopola has done a wonderful job of it.
While I laughed (I think a lille more than necessary) at the jokes of Bob Harris (esp, the ones in the bar), I really sympathized with Charlotte's confusion as to where her life is leading to.

jus when the screen came alive with those 2-3 second scenes of the Strip Club, in walks my maid! the timing wouldn’t have been better -that she had to enter in the only scene of the otherwise clean movie shows how right Murphy is (Bless his Laws) and I have to put up with her looks of 'I know what type of movies u watch' throughout the week.

back to the movie - I think I actually liked the way they maintain their friendship without spoiling it with unnecessary romance - two ppl who relate to each other because of their desolation in an alien land,
like (in the words of H.W.Longfellow )
"Ships that pass in the night, and speak each other in passing, only a signal shown, and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence."

My personal favorite is the one where they meet for lunch (after Bob's night with the singer) and Charlotte says 'perhaps because u can relate to her better' and
Bob says 'Doesn’t anyone ever give u the attention u want? '
(and immediately I say mentally 'but not from the one we seek’)
Of course the last shots were brilliant, Murray really wins hands down by conveying his desperation, to bid goodbye to her, thro’ his eyes which follows Charlott who takes the elevator in a nonchalant way without another glance.
another of those lines which I luved
Charlotte: Let's never come here again because it will never be as much fun.

all in all i wud give this movie a 5/5 because of the brilliant acting and direction.
But one thing which has left me wondering is ,in the last scene
“what does Bob whisper into Charlotte's ears which makes her smile ?” Any guesses?

16 comments:

Rat said...

Shit I havent seen this movie as yet. Thanks for the review will def watch it.

Jinguchakka said...

By saying "and immediately I say mentally 'but not from the one we seek’", you convey that you've gone through all that! Hmm... We can relate to something better when we have experienced that, na?

Rohan Kumar said...

How abt " 'Lip' my stockings" ;)

Anonymous said...

WOW this is deep "Let's never come here again because it will never be as much fun." absoluely crazy stuff. wonder if anyone on this planet can do it. But i love it. BTW nice write up.

~RAUL~ said...

I guess I need to watch this movie. Saw Breakfast at Tiffany's sometime back. Absolutely fantastic. Watch star movies tomorrow 7.00 PM.

Crouching Tigress said...

Hmmm..such a noiseless movie me thought. And I can relate to being lost in translation even! Have you watched virgin suicides? Its also her movie. The movie left me in a strange mood...:)

Unknown said...

havn't watched the flik. but will if i can... the whole desolate alone thing of the movie appeals to me a lot.

Anonymous said...

its pretty obvious what he tells her...

"listen, after watching the movie everyone is gonna be tearing their brains apart wondering what did i tell u that made u smile. let it be our lil secret."

The Wandering Hermit said...

I absolutely loved this movie, must have watched it 1--15 times.

Bill Murray is superb,

And as for what he says to her, I wouldn't want to know, there should be a bit of mystery left to reside in everything, it makes it more interesting.

Cheers
z

Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said...

@ratsy
must say itz definetly worth a watch

@jinguchaka
I think I did convey as much by saying 'itz not for those happy-n-in-luv ppl' ;)

@Rohan
'Lip' my stockings was something silly I thot ,not like those 'Santory Times' jokes

@zombiee
it is a very nice movie so it deserves a nice write-up

@raul
dude I missed that show on Star Movies at 7 , perhaps I cud catch a re-run ?

@tigress
Virgin Suicides -nope - the title sounds interesting though

@shyo
it is sorta desolate yet it has so much humour in it esp. the way they talk to each other (too bad it looks jus the way some ppl wud camouflage their feelings in real life)


@vicky
tatz a neat guess... it makes us wonder y Charlotte smiles? sure luked very optimistic

@Zofo
welcome to the Princess's realm,
15 times?? i'm amazed , the mystery element wud pique anyone's interest
(btw nice blog u got there esp. 'bout the books)

~RAUL~ said...

no worries lah...tune in on friday evening. btw, there is a play today evening at ravindra bharati. catch it if u can.

Anonymous said...

you have again lapsed into the old BAD habit of posting just once a week. and this time its been more than a week.

change lady. change.

RT said...

True. It was one of the most 'real' movies I have seen till date. No extra emotions, nothing different from the mundane existence. There was so much chemistry between the two even when there was no romanticism in their relationship. It is so identifiable in real life as well and that was captured perfectly in the movie.

Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said...

@Vicky
seeing that ur request is made at 'bout 2.30am,I cant disappoint u :))

@rt
yaa the chemistry was brimming over but the best part is that they let it remain so.

Arvind Swarup Pathiki said...

This is one movie i really didnt 'get' when i watched it. I think your review, if you think that is the right word for it, is very interesting because it makes me understand what exactly is the point of the movie. It is indeed another of your very good write ups. Lots of meat in it.

Not to flatter you, but i must confess that i liked this write up more than the review of this movie from my favorite movie critic. Because it makes me understand the movie. Thanks.

Now to allow a great man, answer your last question. Roger Ebert write in his review...

'I loved the moment near the end when Bob runs after Charlotte and says something in her ear, and we're not allowed to hear it.

We shouldn't be allowed to hear it. It's between them, and by this point in the movie, they've become real enough to deserve their privacy. Maybe he gave her his phone number. Or said he loved her. Or said she was a good person. Or thanked her. Or whispered, "Had we but world enough, and time..." and left her to look up the rest of it.'

Look up the rest.

oops... looks like i am hijacking your space. but by the time of the final scene where the two get separated, i was so involved that i brokedown and was sobbing copiously. Very rarely a movie that i did not like evoked such pain in me.

Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said...

@Arvind
'am glad you liked my write-up.i almost fell off my chair when i read 'Not to flatter you, but i must confess that i liked this write up more than the review of this movie from my favorite movie critic. ' that is high compliments. thanks a lot.