Sweet in a way that didn't bug me, slow in a way that didn't bore me, simple but not stupid. If you've ever felt lost, you'll like this movie. At least, I did. Also digging the soundtrack, chock full of Kevin Shields-y goodness.
Booooooooooo!!!!!!!!!! Not to the movie. To Caroline because I won't get to see this movie for a couple of more weeks at least.
Saw it on a free preview about two weeks ago - brilliant. I hereby declare a cease-fire on Sofia's deer-in-headlights "Godfather 3" performance. RS
No offense to you, but this is the crap that bugs me. No other promising young director gets this type of treatment. Coppola is constantly overshadowed by that admittedly beyond-wretched performance and by her lineage.Virgin Suicides was a promising debut, not a brilliant accomplishment, but had anyone else made it, people would be shouting hosannahs about the originality and potential of a young (FEMALE) director Instead it got treated as some sort of indulgent summer science project by a famous director's daughter, one that probably shouldn't have been made. Everyone now wants to act like it was considered an outstanding debut at the time, but it took far more grief than praise, and it was undeserved. The criticism had as much to do with her (anmd Godfather III) as the film. I was reading Mike Clark's review in USA Today which said something like "two for two is probably not a fluke." Why is there any suggestion that it was? Darren Aronofsky has made two outstanding films. The same is true of David Gordon Green. Heck her husband Spike Jonze has made two very good films. Do any of them have to put up with that sort of crap? Does Aronofsky get reviews that say "Two for two probably isn't a fluke?" Sorry, rant over. I really look forward to seeing this film. I meant to see it coming back from the Atlanta airport this weekend, but unfortunately Atlanta doesn't yet realize that it's a big city that's supposed to have films earlier than say, Augusta.
Can you imagine when they have kids? Either those kids are going to have the best looking birthday party videos ever, or Spike and Sofia are going to split over 'creative differences'.
i really want to see this movie. Bill Murray is turning into quite an actor (he was great in rushmore, and will star in wes anderson's next film). but i will have to wait, as this movie isn't playing within 30 miles of my ass. hopefully in the next couple o weeks it'll make it's way to P-Burgh
Saw this movie last night. Absolutely brilliant. For a middle aged old fart like myself, it really struck chords. Murray was brilliant. Who'd a thunk it, in such an odd, poignant movie? And the soundtrck was brilliant, right down to the last Jesus & Mary Chain song. Huge, huge thumbs up.
Saw it yesterday too. Great chemistry between Murray and Johansson, excellent imagery and pacing. I thought Bill Murray's wife was overdone - it might have made his conflict even more intense if she wasn't a total bitch, and the lounge singer wasn't necessary, I don't think. Otherwise, excellent stuff. PS I wonder if I would have found the shoot scene funnier if I didn't understand Japanese...
awesome movie!! so beautiful. i love scarlett johansson!! i'm so excited that this movie was so awesome. i am going to go see it again. i luv u sofia coppola.
Very, very good film. Pleasantly surprised by how good it was. Several minor spoilers here... -- I liked how the relationship didn't devolve into something overtly sexual, and as a result was much more complicated. It has tiny elements of the relationships of friends, lovers, father/daughter, even a divorced couple wound into it. -- I thought at first that the location was just a setup for trans-national difference gags, but really they had to set it in a place that was as foreign as could be, but still had constant motion. It's the only way that these two people could have been so lonely and clung to each other so much. This relationship would never have happened in the US, or Europe, or Tibet, or nearly anywhere other than an Asian megalopolis. -- Any ideas of what Bob says into Charlotte's ear on the street at the end?
- Indeed. Tokyo is as westernized as a non-western city can be, but is also as foreign as a westernized city can be. If you've ever visited Tokyo, it's really an alienating experience, even for natives. I was wondering about that too. I guess I'll have to go see it again... with a lip reader.
Here's a NY Times article on the shoot scene, with their translation of the director. Interestingly, Bill Murray didn't know what they were saying in Japanese. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/21/fashion/21LOST.html Speaking of the Coppola name, it's a good thing Nick changed his last name.
that was an amazing moment/scene. it was such a private moment between two people that not even the audience was allowed into it.
I love the secret scene as well. It's a great ending. I was wondering if anyoen here thought soem of the elements were similar to Wong Kar-Wai films. It has the chaste romance of In the Mood for Love. It has the sense of urban loneliness in a giant Asian city that's found in Fallen Angels. And visually, it uses the extreme shiny reflections in elevators that reminded me of shots in Chungking Express.
I found large parts of the movie shallow and boring, many scenes were superfluous, cryptic and out of place. The lack of depth and consequences was surprising given the material. Dislocation seemed mundane by the end, and alienation trivial. The gags weren't mildly amusing to those who aren't xenophobic. The characters, although excellently acted, were emotionally distant to the audience. Maybe Charlotte was Coppola confessing when she claimed she can neither write nor photograph well. With the potential of the promise ruined by Coppola's inablity to have both dialogue and sceneries within scenes, or go from one scene to another without lost of ambiance, it should have been titled Lost while Filming. But then again, there were some naked titties!
What impressed me most about the street scene at the end was how it managed to shift my empathy from him to her, and very subtly too. A really wonderful film. Incidentally, what the hell was that guy shooting at them?
Just out of curiousity, how would you make your "xenophobic" case. Because I thought it was very clear by the end of the film that the dislocation both of them felt was something far more pervasive than simply being in a country new and strange to them and extended far beyond the time they spent in Japan. Also, are you suggesting Japan was mis- or selectively represented? Was the presentation of Japanese show bis/fashion people any more damning than what's commonly given for Americans of the same ilk?
Easily one of the best movies of the year for me. I agree that the "secret moment" at the end was great. It was one of those scenes that generates great post-movie talk among those who went to see the film. I disagree about the wife. I don't think the portrayal of her was over the top at all. I've been in a long-term relationship like that before, and believe me, the phone conversations that Bob and his wife have are very real. And the lounge singer was necessary. Bob hooks up with her to distance himself a little from Charlotte because he knows that his relationship with Charlotte can't go anywhere.