Feb 11, 2013

Sometimes Tokyo Seems to Be Quite Exotic to Me: My Impression of the Film "Lost in Translation"


When I hear replaying my own voice, it sounds really strange. I don't believe that my voice is so funny and the other people hear such a strange voice.

Sofia Coppola felt Tokyo was exotic and described Tokyo as exotic. Although I'm living in Tokyo and Tokyo in her film is real, Tokyo seems to be quite exotic to me, when I see Tokyo in her film through her eyes.

In this film, Bob Harris, who was a Hollywood movie star and visited Tokyo to appear a commercial film of Japanese whisky, saw his movie dubbed in Japanese on TV. Of course he felt it strange. In the similar way, watching Tokyo through this film was a strange experience for me. It is typical defamiliarization.

Incidentally Tommy Lee Jones has been appearing the series of caned coffee called "BOSS" as an alien for several years.



I always keep a dream to get out of Tokyo, while I'm working in my office. Sometimes I make a trip to a foreign country, and I feel relieved, but in the end I returned to Tokyo, so Bob returned to America. I was trapped by Tokyo so firmly that I can't run away from Tokyo.

Intimacy with Tokyo makes it much harder for me to live in Tokyo. I hate Tokyo, because it is so intimate. When I felt Tokyo strange like a stranger in Tokyo, I could love Tokyo.

P.S.
The swimming pool on the top floor in Park Hyatt Tokyo is my favorite.



2 comments:

  1. When I watched Lost in Translation, I thought that Sofia Coppola created her version of Tokyo from America's clichés on Japan. But I've never been to Tokyo (yet!) so I can't judge and my own picture of it is based on Japanese literature, and some Japanese films.

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  2. Oh, I'm happy to read your comment!

    It's true that Sofia Coppola used America's cliches in her film, but at the same time they really existed. Tokyo in Japanese literature and films also might create their version of Tokyo.

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