MSVC 103 Close Textual Analysis

Here's the finished copy of my first assignment for MSVC 103, an analysis of Lost in Translation.

MSVC 103

Assignment 1

Close textual analysis

The prevailing themes of Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film “Lost in Translation” are of being lost and alienated in an unfamiliar culture and finding friendship, however unlikely, with someone who shares this feeling. It is important to note that, whilst the main theme of the film would seem to be loneliness and alienation, the relationship between the two protagonists is in direct opposition to this, as they portray a sense of feeling complete when around each other. It is only when we see the characters separate from each other that the more negative themes are apparent.

The above image is of the characters Bob Harris (played by Bill Murray) and Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson) in the midst of a discussion about the direction their lives are taking. They are lying on the bed in Bob’s hotel room in Tokyo, with Charlotte dressed in her pyjamas as it is the middle of the night.

It is a long shot from a third person point of view, in deep focus. Using a long shot like this, showing their whole bodies, presents them to the viewer as whole people, complete in this intimate moment together. Therefore, this shot is in binary opposition to parts of the film when the characters are not together, as we see them as lost and fragmented individuals. The third person point of view could serve to exclude the viewer, not from the scene or film as a whole, but from the world the characters create together, as we are merely looking in on the characters, rather than being part of the action. This is clearest in the final scene of the film, when Bob and Charlotte are saying goodbye before Bob leaves Japan. The only dialogue in this scene is inaudible to the viewer, when Bob whispers something to Charlotte. The characters are therefore privileged, as they know what was said and the audience do not.

The point of view of the shot is a bird’s eye view, taken looking straight down at the characters. Looking down on them like this makes the characters appear small and vulnerable, suggesting to the viewer that, although they appear complete in this moment of being together, they are still lost in all other aspects of their lives.

The lighting in the shot is very soft and naturalistic, appearing to come from a lamp just out of shot. This soft interior lighting helps to highlight the calmness of the scene, singling this shot out from the exterior scenes around Tokyo. In those exterior scenes the lighting is very harsh with many neon signs and flashing lights, emphasising the vibrant and often overwhelming Tokyo landscape.

There is nothing in this shot besides the characters and the bed they are laying on, focusing the viewer’s attention firmly on the characters. This not only puts all of the viewer’s attention on them, but also suggests that to the characters there is nothing more in their lives than this moment with each other.

There is an obvious age gap between the characters of Bob and Charlotte; Bob is an actor in his fifties with a wife and children back home, Charlotte is a young wife in her twenties whose husband is away elsewhere in Japan working. It seems unusual to the viewer that two people with such different lives and interests would form a friendship as strong as theirs, and in this way the film itself challenges hegemony. However, the way the characters are placed in this scene could serve to reinforce hegemony in some ways. Charlotte is lying curled up in the foetal position, which connotes vulnerability and makes her seem almost childlike, which would seem fitting when considering her age, whereas Bob is lying outstretched so he seems fully grown and adult. These are conventions the viewer would expect from the difference in age between the characters.

In the shot the characters are lying on a bed, which signifies the potential of sex, but the characters are both fully clothed and appear to be almost asleep, therefore removing this likelihood.

The most revealing action in this scene is Bob’s hand resting on Charlotte’s foot. It suggests that there is a certain amount of intimacy between the characters as the foot is not a part of the body which is often exposed or close to the touch for people we are not close to. As feet are not a highly sexualised body part we do not get a sense of any sexual motive for the touch. It is most likely a comforting gesture, amplified by the position in which Charlotte is laying as the foetal position connotes vulnerability.

The colour in the scene is very muted, with the only colour in the shot that isn’t part of the characters clothing being the white bed-sheets. This minimalist approach, with the clean white bed sheets, connotes cleanliness, suggesting to the viewer that the hotel they are staying in is an expensive one, something which is made clear during the rest of the film. The clean white bed sheets also have cultural links, as they are often used to symbolise purity, thus suggesting to the viewer that no sexual activity has taken place between the characters, that their relationship is still ‘pure’.

The clothes worn by the characters are quite different; Bob is still dressed, wearing a dark v-neck jumper over a white t-shirt and plain trousers, whilst Charlotte appears much more casual, wearing her pyjamas; a pair of grey tracksuit bottoms and a red hooded top. This serves as a symbol of the age difference between the two; Bob is older and therefore dressed more formally, whilst Charlotte is comfortable in more casual clothing.

The scene beginning at 8 minutes and 11 seconds in to the film features Bob on the set of an advert he is starring in promoting a brand of whiskey. Filming of the advert proves difficult, as the director is Japanese and does not speak English, whilst Bob is American and does not speak Japanese. Bob has a translator with him, but becomes confused when she does not seem to be translating the director’s full instructions.

The scene begins with a tracking long-shot, establishing the studio in which the advert is being filmed. The shot pans around to the right, revealing Bob sat in a chair on the set for the advert. The camera stops and focuses on Bob for a moment. He is wearing a tuxedo and make-up ready for filming, but looks slightly bewildered. Characters speaking in Japanese can be heard from out of shot and Bob appears to be trying to listen to what they are saying. This is an action code, setting up the confusion over the language barrier that is shortly to follow.

There is then a cut to a long shot of the director stood behind the camera talking to another man who then leaves the shot. The camera pans around to follow the director, as he walks out from behind the camera to give Bob instructions, in Japanese, on what he wants him to do for the advert. The way the camera moves with the director as he walks around, added to the fact that there are no subtitles for what he is saying, helps the audience to empathise with Bob, as we are no more aware of what the director is trying to say than he is.

We then have a medium shot of Bob sitting in the chair as his translator tells him what the director wants him to do. Her instructions seems much shorter in English than those the director was giving in Japanese, leading to some confusion on Bob’s part as to what it is he should be doing. Bob’s facial expressions in this part of the scene are an action code, as they give the audience a sense of what is about to happen next. The confusion shown on his face tells the audience that he does not fully understand what it is the director wants him to do, thus we understand that filming of the scene will probably not go smoothly.

There are then two medium shots in quick succession, one of the translator speaking to the director, and one of the director listening to her instructions. The confusion between the languages continues here, as the translator seems to be asking the director a lot more than Bob intended. The editing in this scene really helps the viewer to connect with the way Bob is feeling at this moment, as we understand just as little about what is going on as he does. The quick shots of the director looking perturbed about being asked questions and gesturing to his watch are an action code, showing us that he is in a rush to get filming finished. When the shot cuts back to Bob he is looking around the set, as if to find someone who understands what is being said. The way he looks around could also be understood by the viewer in cultural terms, as this action is something often seen when someone believes they are ‘missing something’, not in a literal sense, but that there is something going on around them that other people understand and they do not.

When the camera is following the director it often slips out of focus, so that neither the background nor the foreground is in focus and we cannot clearly see everything. This technique was likely used to emotionally implicate the viewer; us not being able to fully see the director makes us feel the way Bob does, that nothing is completely clear.

After Bob has agreed with the director that he understands what he should be doing, despite the fact that he does not, there is a long shot with deep focus of Bob on the set. The camera then pans across, with everything slipping out of focus once again, to the on-set monitor showing the director what the camera sees. This is known as intratextuality, when we see filming of a scene within a scene.

We then cut to a medium shot in very soft focus with hazy lighting of Bob in the advert. This style of lighting and focus connotes to the audience that the advert is intended to look expensive and seductive, as we have come to learn these conventions through cultural codes. He picks up the glass of whiskey on the table next to him and looks directly in to the camera. It then becomes clear to the viewer that we are looking through the lens of the camera filming within the scene. Bob delivers his lines, then turns to take a sip of the whiskey before the director shouts ‘cut!’ three times in Japanese. Bob seems surprised that the director is cutting here, suggesting to the viewer that he believed he had delivered well, that he saw nothing wrong with the way he had delivered.

The director briskly walks over to the set and kneels next to Bob, holding the whiskey bottle in front of him. We see a close up of the director, the first of the scene so far, as he once again tries to explain to Bob exactly what he wants him to do. His facial expression and tone of voice here signify impatience, suggesting to the viewer that the language barrier in this scene is slowly becoming a bigger problem.

Bob’s translator tells Bob what the director said, though once again Bob, as well as the viewer, does not know if her translation is accurate. Bob gives an exaggerated smile here, suggesting that he too has lost patience with the situation, but also that he sees the humour in the repetition of the director/translator confusion.

Before the filming begins again we see a medium close up in deep focus of Bob letting out a sigh, seeming exasperated by the whole situation. When the filming begins, Bob looks up at the ceiling as he delivers his lines, rather than in to the camera. Through cultural codes the viewer understands this to mean that Bob is not fully concentrating on successfully completing the scene and would perhaps rather abandon shooting rather than continue trying to fulfil the director’s wishes. As he finishes delivering his lines and takes a sip of the whiskey, he looks directly at the camera and raises his eyebrows knowingly, before the director once again shouts ‘cut!’. At this point Bob’s eyebrows droop back down; this signifies his annoyance, and as he looks over to the director his forehead furrows in a way that suggests he is not only exhausted but is also becoming angry.

The sets used in this scene work as important symbolic codes, as they are used to emphasise the differences between the characters. There are two distinctly different parts to the set; the first is the ‘studio’ in which the advert is being the filmed, the second is the set which is being filmed. The studio itself is very modern and full of equipment and technology, the set on which Bob is sitting is very traditional and old-fashioned. This difference in the sets is a clear sign of the differences between the characters. Bob is the oldest character in this scene and is sat on the old-fashioned style set, whilst the younger characters, such as the director, are all on the modern side of the set, on the high-tech studio side. This juxtaposition of the sets helps to emphasise the differences between Bob and everyone else in the room, not only in age, but also the languages they speak, as Bob is the only person in the room who doesn’t speak Japanese, and is sat on the set alone.

Reference:

Sofia Coppola “Lost in Translation” (Momentum Pictures, 2003)