Since it’s the Halloween season through the end of the month, you may want to watch some scary movies on Amazon Prime Video like The Thing, The Witch, The Silence of the Lambs, and The Return of the Living Dead. But rather than go with something predictable, our pick for the one Amazon Prime Video movie that you have to watch in October is Lost in Translation, a romantic comedy/drama that came out 21 years ago.
Sofia Coppola, the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, reinvented herself in 1999 as the director of The Virgin Suicides, and then solidified her reputation as a filmmaker with Lost in Translation. With a miniscule total budget of only $4 million, Coppola nonetheless attracted Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson to her film, and it became a breakout hit in the genre. Lost in Translation is still worth revisiting in 2024, and we’re sharing the reasons why you should watch it on Prime Video.
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It has one of Bill Murray’s greatest performances
Bill Murray has primarily veered toward comedy rather than drama, and it is his strength as a performer. But there is something about his turn as Bob Harris that feels more genuine. Like Murray, Harris is an aging actor … he just doesn’t have the same kind of success. Instead of making movies, Bob is in Japan to film whisky commercials. It’s a high-paying gig, but not particularly fulfilling.
We see all of this through Murray’s body language and facial expressions. Bob hides his loneliness well, but not the weary nature of his life. Murray actually lets the audience see his character’s emotional vulnerability, and that’s why Bob feels more like a real guy than a simple caricature. Unsurprisingly, this earned Murray an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
Scarlett Johansson has a starmaking turn
Prior to Lost in Translation, Scarlett Johansson was not an unknown actress. But this film did mark her transition to mature roles. She plays Charlotte, a recently married young woman whose husband, John (Giovanni Ribisi), doesn’t seem to be that concerned about her emotional needs as he takes photos of celebrities in Japan as part of his job. Johansson portrays Charlotte’s emotional vulnerability in a way that makes her very easy to sympathize with.
Even in the scenes where she’s alone, Johansson emotes and lets the audience understand why Charlotte would be open to reaching out to a much older man like Bob. These are two very lonely people, and they find kindred spirits in each other.
Lost in Translation never goes where you think it will
The heart of this movie is the onscreen rapport that Murray and Johansson give Bob and Charlotte as they bond during their short time together in Japan. This is more than a friendship, and yet the movie never takes them into a full-blown romance. We do see some tension between them when Bob briefly hooks up with another woman, but Charlotte doesn’t seem to want to consummate anything with Bob. It’s more like she either feels threatened by Bob’s fling, or fears that he’s just befriending her for the wrong reasons.
Coppola wisely avoids taking the easy path with Bob and Charlotte, and that’s why it’s still worth revisiting this duo. Their story doesn’t get predictable, and it doesn’t have a Hollywood ending.
One last lingering mystery
Without giving too many spoilers away, the final exchange between Bob and Charlotte plays without letting the audience hear what he says to her. We only see her reaction, and then his to their parting. Coppola has steadfastly refused to share the words that were exchanged between them.
That’s the lingering mystery that lets Lost in Translation live on in our imaginations. Sometimes ambiguity is better than a clearcut resolution. And it’s an ending that everyone is still talking about over two decades later.
Watch Lost in Translation on Prime Video.
