10 years of 'Lost in Translation'.

And 10 years being my favourite movie. It is something irrational having a favorite something, you know it's not the best thing out there but still it is your fave, it's close to your heart and there isn't any other one that comes even close. I've had some other favorites in my life, depending on the age, like 'Gone with the Wind' when i was really little, or 'Labyrinth' later but it's been quite a while since 'Lost in Translation' has been my #1.

I remember going to the cinema to watch it with a friend on a hangover Sunday, we didn't know what it was about or anything, just that people were saying it was "good", and i remember that we both of us left the cinema thinking, "Nothing really happened". But it sure did. Next weekend, when we met again, we had a very different opinion about the movie, during the week, the film stuck in our heads, thinking about it and reflecting on it nonstop. By a few days, we understood everything. And that's how it became my favourite movie to date.

In 10 years i think i've watched it less than 10 times, i don't want to watch it way too many times in case it loses its charm, or what makes it special, so i only allow myself to watch it when i'm feeling really sad or down, because this movie always, always, makes me feel a lot better. Because in a way, Sofia Coppola's movie is about hope, about finding someone else who gives us that little push we need to carry on with life when everything seems hopeless and meaningless. And i think the ending is all about that. In a way, i think all of us have in mind our very own idea of what Bob whispers to Charlotte in the ending scene, and that's something precious as well, our very own closure of the movie.

I also like the late film critic Roger Ebert's take on the ending scene, because is also beautiful and really accurate:

So much has been written about those few words at the end that Bob whispers into Charlottes' ear. We can't hear them. They seem meaningful for both of them. Coppola said she didn't know. It wasn't scripted. Advanced sound engineering has been used to produce a fuzzy enhancement. Harry Caul of "The Conversation" would be proud of it, but it's entirely irrelevant. Those words weren't for our ears. Coppola (1) didn't write the dialog, (2) didn't intentionally record the dialogue, and (3) was happy to release the movie that way, so we cannot hear. Why must we know? Do we need closure? This isn't a closure kind of movie. We get all we need in simply knowing they share a moment private to them, and seeing that it contains something true before they part forever.

As i've already posted my fave pictures of the movie in the Films of SC post, below there's a deleted scene i wish it had been included, because it explains how lost and lonely the character of Charlotte really feels, and the whole point of the movie, how even with something like a robot, that couldn't possibly make her feel more isolated in a city like Tokyo, she really is.

“Let’s never come here again because it will never be as much fun.”

sources: rogerebert, blackmoods, youtube, irrwitz