This film makes you realise that sometimes being lost is actually the least lonely and probably most fulfilling feeling of all, especially when you recognise you're not really alone in this world after all!

It follows a week in the lives of two Americans in Japan, 'holidaying' separately in a Tokyo hotel and both battling with insomnia (due to jet lag) and a lack of true understanding of their existence…until they meet each other that is and suddenly things begin to fall into place.

Heading for a mid-life crisis Bob Harris (played by Bill Murray) is a fifty-something, 'past-it' actor who has travelled all the way to Asia to do a Scotch advert (of all things), in order to make a quick buck before he is confined to the shelf once and for all.

In between taking some rather confused and fragmented direction from the foreign crew members, Bob is also trying to make sense of the bizarre trappings of Japanese TV…and as if that isn't enough the only way he seems able to communicate with his wife is via faxes about home décor and D.I.Y.!!!

Charlotte (played by Scarlet Johansson), on the other hand, is a newly graduated Philosophy student with her whole life ahead of her…if only she could figure out what it is that she actually wants to do!

Charlotte finds herself in Tokyo simply as a travelling companion to her photographer husband who is there on business…but as her stay progresses the more in need of company she actually becomes, because her husband is always away on a shoot. Having only been wed for 2 years, she's also troubled by the fact that her married life isn't quite what she expected.

And so when cigarettes prove to be a welcome friend for Charlotte and the whiskey a crutch for Bob….they find themselves together in the hotel bar night after night, and it's at this crossroads they somehow help each other reconnect to life.
Unlike everything else around them…like the confusion and hilarity due to the cultural and language differences in Tokyo (not to mention the Karaoke) and the general lack of understanding between themselves and the people they know and love…their relationship is the only one that seems to make any sense and it is as much a relationship that exists because of the things that aren't said, as much the things that are.

With a dream-like quality about it, 'Lost In Translation' is a very magical and intense emotional rollercoaster ride…having said that, if you want lots of action and a 'beginning, middle and an end' to this film then forget it! It's an observational piece, that is character rather than story led…and what superb characters Bob and Charlotte are. As the credits roll you feel like you really know them and more importantly you'll care for them too…and it's at this point you'll wish that you could follow them down their next paths in life.

Bill Murray is the true surprise in this film. His performance is both subtle and moving, possibly his best to date…certainly a far cry from his Dr. Peter Venkman in 'Ghostbusters' and Phil Connors in 'Groundhog Day'…and Scarlett Johannson also puts on a sterling show and proves to be very watchable…rather like the whole film in fact, which I'm sure is down to inventive film maker Sophia Coppola.

With some artistically framed shots, perfectly timed edits and a truly mesmerising quality about it, it's no wonder that this bittersweet tale of forbidden love has earned Golden Globes and Oscar Nominations.

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