No one was surprised at the winner of the Oscar for Best Picture for the movies of 2003; Lord of the Rings was perhaps the most sure winner of all time. But that doesn’t mean the movies which were overlooked were mediocre films. They weren’t. In any other year, Master and Commander, Seabiscuit, Mystic River and the movie we will watch next in our series of Great Movies could have easily walked away with the top prize.

Lost in Translation combines a great script (it won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) with subtle acting (a nomination for Best Actor) and precise direction (again, Sophia Coppola was nominated) to devise a superb portrait of a friendship discovered in the midst of loneliness. Coppola, daughter of the famous director of the Godfather trilogy Francis Ford Coppola, presents us with an exploration of two people, wandering and lost for very different reasons, who find each other in an environment completely foreign to them and bond in a way unique among stories of my experience. Not much happens in this film, but the viewer is mesmerized by the way in which their friendship grows and the dramatic tension that is raised by the direction of their relationship makes for an engrossing two hours. Bill Murray gives perhaps his best performance to date as a bored and lonely-at-the-top actor and Scarlett Johansson, in her break-out role as the neglected wife, Charlotte, matches him stride for stride.

We will be watching and discussing the movie at my house at 1530 Rugby Ave; note we will start at our regular 7:30 p.m. time.

Summary of Details:

Film:  Lost in Translation
Date:  Monday, Jan 10
Time:  7:30 p.m.
Place:  1530 Rugby Ave.
Phone for directions: 434.295.8323