If you have watched "Lost in Tokyo", you will never forget Scarlett's opening shot. The back of a mature woman lying on her side, along with the looming curves under the pink underwear, the title of "Lost In Translation" gradually appeared.
In fact, when the 19-year-old Scarlett played Charlotte, she shyly rejected this revealing performance. In the end, the director Sophia Coppola personally performed the demonstration, which relieved Scarlett's doubts.
What do we think when we see this lens?
Lost in the thin background of Tokyo
Appreciating the 19-year-old Scarlett’s mature and energetic body, we perceive a sense of ambiguity and temptation, which may influence the development of the plot later. Maybe you are curious about what she is thinking? What did she do before? Director Sofia Coppola skipped the confession and let us directly face this lens language. What is it going to say?
In this lonely foreign land, who has just graduated from a postgraduate degree in philosophy, Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson), who has a promising future, comes to Tokyo with her photographer husband. The workaholic husband has no time to take care of Charlotte’s emotions and voices. . The two-year marriage began to show signs of "first itch": lack of passion and communication in the accustomed relationship, and the enthusiasm of love gradually faded.
Charlotte's dazed state of mind in her early twenties resembles Bob Harris (Bill Murray), the midlife crisis faced by a movie star whose career is going downhill. Behind the shot of Charlotte showing the curve of his hips, it is Bob leaning against the car window tiredly, watching the weird and swift Tokyo streetscapes passing by, we hear the dreamlike empty background music, blue The cool color of the color juxtaposes the two shots at the same night, although the lengths are different, to play the lonely overture of the two.
Low-key hints of pink panties
Go back to Charlotte who is lying on the bed.
Sofia once mentioned in an interview that the lens was inspired by the paintings of American photorealism master John Kacere. Many of his paintings have similar compositions. The woman in underwear is lying on her side, showing a clean and firm middle section of the body.
In contrast to the brightness of the painting, Sophia is on top of it, giving the picture a cool background. Charlotte is lying on the bed, with waves of out-of-focus curtains in front of her. There is no pornographic prying into the picture, nor does it materialize sexy women. It presents a full and mature beauty, but the soul wrapped in Charlotte's physical body is still blank and green.
When the shot of Charlotte wearing pink underwear appeared for the second time, her photographer husband came back, hurriedly packing photographic equipment on the hotel floor, and turned a blind eye to the cherry blossom-themed room that his wife had bothered to decorate. Charlotte, wearing pink transparent underwear, walked in front of him, and he still ignored it without interest.
The screen gives the second metaphor that points to the lonely young woman—the pity that no one picks the ripe fruit. The sexy and beautiful visual symbol of pink panties has been suspended. The husband ignored Charlotte's beauty. Like the cool tone when it first appeared, it was suppressed as a symbol of loneliness. Corresponding to the lonely theme of the film.
Many meanings of "Lost In Translation" disappeared in translation, in the collision of Eastern and Western languages, in the difficult communication between people, and also in the ignorance of the relationship between Charlotte and Bob. The key to understanding and caring is lost.
Loneliness is their common voice lonely individual
What's interesting is that the film gives the two protagonists different movement trends, one inward, one outward, and finally the two come together. The scenes of Bob Harris are often indoors. He yearns for the inner peace and security. However, the shower head in the hotel room is too short and the TV shows are too speechless. Even the movies of his youth were dubbed funny. Japanese pronunciation... nothing can calm him. At this time, the lens captured Bill Murray's tired and happy face, and the photographer gave it a warm and gloomy brown tone.
Charlotte’s scenes are often outdoors. She walks at an intersection in a daze, looks puzzled when she sees the cobweb-like route on the subway, and listens curiously to the majestic bells in the ancient monastery... She pursues outwards. The meaning and answers of life. At this time, a wide-angle lens is often used to highlight her single figure, and the middle shot is used to shoot her gloomy eyes in an unfamiliar environment. The color of the lens adopts a cool color dominated by white and blue.
The photographer used these two distinct styles to complete the expression of loneliness of the two at different levels, and also provided a solid psychological foundation for the two to know each other and cherish each other. It is because of each other's loneliness and confusion that they attract each other. Borges said, what can I use to keep you? He wrote at the end, "I give you my loneliness, my darkness, and the hunger of my heart; I try to impress you with confusion, danger, and failure." Loneliness is their common language, the path to the soul.
In the mood for love
Although the hearts of two married people are moving with each other, they did not go beyond the forbidden limit, and the extramarital affair that only "starts in love and ends in courtesy" is not like Wong Kar-wai's "In the Mood for Love"? When Sofia Coppola received the 76th Oscar Award for Best Screenplay, he thanked Wong Kar-wai for the inspiration brought to her by "In the Mood for Love". The English name of "In the Mood for Love" is "In the Mood for Love".
They are so obsessed with spiritual communication that they dare not take a physical step. The awe of the physical relationship brought about by this platonic spiritual love is shown in the composition of the two people's pictures, and there is always a certain distance between them. Only in the game of prison escape, they escaped from the fashionable bar hand in hand, and escaped from the strip club the next day, running panting, laughing relaxed and arbitrary, then shortened the distance of their bodies.
Although the styles of the pictures are quite different, compared with the rich colors and splendor of "In the Mood for Love", "Lost in Tokyo" is much simpler. However, the ambiguous flow of aura between Charlotte and Bob, as well as their "prison escape" game behavior, can see the shadow of "In the Mood for Love". There is another similarity, that is the gripping question, "If there is another ticket, will you go with me?" In "Lost in Tokyo" it turned into a more sincere confession, and Bob shone in tears and said: "I don't want to go." "Then don't go, stay with me. We are in a jazz band." Charlotte said. At this time, a joke is the safest distance to advance and retreat.
The warmest hug in the world, low-key hints
In this film of the director’s autobiographical nature, perhaps it is precisely because of this personal emotional substitution that it has a more real resonance in the hearts of the audience. Everyone will have the loneliness of MadeIn at a certain stage, "I don't feel anything." Losing sensibility is like living on the dead wood, and there is no way to let go of the fear of the boundless future, and the disappointment in marriage that we can hardly mention. . "Your life, before you know it, is over, and you will never return." Bob said to Charlotte, but then he put his hand on Charlotte's feet in relief and said, "You still have to be saved." . But also through the low ebb of life, you may not be lucky enough to meet a Bob.
It's hard to imagine anyone better than Bill Murray for the role of Bob. He is so kind and cute, he has captured the precious qualities of a middle-aged man, the wisdom brought by the time under the languid complaint, and his humorous naivety like a big boy. Bill Murray has the wonderful power to make this happen without erotic imagination. He made the pure "friendship" between the two convincing, and he created a warm and charming screen image.
Sophia directed a whole set of scenes where the two know each other, cherish each other, quarrel, let go, and separate. These layers of progressive feelings point to the climax of the last moment, and they hug each other reluctantly.
Many people rewatched this 2003 classic film over and over again, perhaps for the last warm embrace.
When Bob pushed aside the bustling crowds on the streets of Tokyo, he found Charlotte, hugged her hard, gave her a pure kiss, and finally whispered in her ear—time stop here.
Well, this whisper in the ear was deciphered by the YouTube fans who had been inquiring about it with the technique of attenuating the background sound. It is said that there are three versions:
Version 1: When you return to China, I will introduce you to Wood Allen. (Okay, I'm just to be funny)
Version 2: I love you, remember always tell the truth.
Version three: (it is said to be a positive solution) I have to be leaving... But I won't let that come between us. Ok?
But the director Sophia insisted that only the two of them heard the romance.
How do you describe this hug to others?
It was a burst of moving, thank you for your existence in this world, thank you for your gentleness. It turns out that you are the same as me... It sublimated the whole movie. This is no longer a regretful tragedy like "Broken Blue Bridge", it gives people sunshine and courage.
Finally, Bob and Charlotte left in different directions with tears in their eyes. With this cherished parting, they once again had the courage to confront the world. The alienated and alienated Tokyo has also become a sentimental city.
The last set of smooth shots of the morning scenes of the city is compared with the night scenes of the hazy dreams at the beginning. A city has become so nostalgic for one person. We follow the shots, just like Bob’s eyes, and Tokyo’s architecture. Say goodbye.
BGM sounded, Listen to the girl,——As she takes on half the world—— Just like honey.
(Posted on the WeChat public account of "Nate Academy of Art")
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