A neglected young wife (Scarlett Johansson) walks into a Tokyo bar for a pick-me-up. She chats with a faded movie star (Bill Murray). The rest is history, so to speak. The unlikely couple's escapade incites hours of deep discussion and discovery about their personal lives. The result is a bond that is, “Just Like Honey,” in their world of melancholy.
Written and directed by Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation was nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture in 2004. Coppola took home Best Original Screenplay that year, cementing her as a budding auteur in her own right out of the shadow of her father, Francis Ford Coppola. At the time of the film's release, Roger Ebert exclaimed, "I loved this movie. I loved the way Coppola and her actors negotiated the hazards of romance and comedy."
Shot entirely on location in Japan, Sofia Coppola's Lost in Translation is a valentine to the nature of close friendships and to the city of Tokyo. Coppola's film, from her original screenplay, contemplates the unexpected connections we make that might not last - yet stay with us forever.
Ten years after the release of Lost in Translation, Spike Jonze directed Her, which some moviegoers interpreted as a response to Sofia Coppola's film, providing Jonze's perspective on the dissolution of a marriage. In Her, Joaquin Phoenix portrays a despondent man who finds romantic solace in an artificial intelligence system amidst a challenging divorce. Rooney Mara takes on the role of Phoenix's ex-wife in the film. Interestingly, Sofia Coppola has never viewed Her.