the last scene in lost in translation [2003]



i watched this flick tonight.  the second time i watched sofia coppola's inaugural movie.  starring bill murray as actor bob harris, & scarlett johanssenn, as charlotte who is married to a photographer.  both are lonely, & in faltering relationships.  they find each other in their tokyo hotel & bond over the exigencies of being in japan & living in their own skulls.  really, these are both successful individuals who live a privileged lifestyle.  so what if they are lonely, & alienated.  as the roman playwright terence said, nothing human is alien to me.  still, there is a beauty to bob & charlotte.  it is not a sexual relationship.  but their relationship is a romantic one.  coppola focuses on these two beautiful people as they grow closer over the intervening days of their stay in tokyo.  the photography is gorgeous & the editing is almost perfect.  furthermore, the soundtrack complements the relationship in a symbiotic fashion.  so when i get to this final scene i'm fucking shredded.  what does bob whisper to charlotte?  i rewound this moment a few times & still can't hear his words.  so i cheated & googled those last words.  but that was a mistake. because it does not matter what bob says to charlotte.  remember, we are lost in translation.  the beauty is even greater for not deciphering his words.  we have a moment of high art [yes, i use that phrase intentionally] of great connection between two individuals who fall in friendship & even romantic love.  their smiling when they part, for the very last time, is proof of the necessity of their brief relationship.  they will be nourished by their love for each other for the rest of their lives.  also, the song, 'just like honey', by the jesus & mary chain, is a perfect denouement.  this last scene elevates all that has come before it & delivers an emotional punch right in the solar plexus.