Alone in Kyoto, forever ago

‘Lost in Translation’ is 10 years old, folks. Let’s reflectively drink on that.

I should thank Sofia Coppola for giving the aimless night out purpose.

Recently, a friend and I went on an impromptu trip to a rock bar we once frequented. We were disappointed when we got there: the new bands we saw were uninspired and the crowd we knew was gone. “Let’s just go somewhere and talk,” I suggested, to my friend’s relief. “Let’s chase our Lost in Translation moment.”

I was referring to scenes in the film where Scarlett Johansson and Bill Murray’s characters, both lone and sleepless in Tokyo, wind up consoling each other through boozy nights of karaoke and conversation. Twenty-something Charlotte (Johansson) and Murray’s middle-aged sad sack Bob Harris are navigating points in their life they’re not sure how they got to, and in a discombobulating city at that. Nights wandering through extraterrestrial Tokyo act both as metaphor for general feelings of alienation and as escape from their existential ruts. 

I was 19 when I saw the film and found myself in Bob and Charlotte, both somewhat self-aware but stuck in life’s waiting room. The film inspired many an all-nighter throughout my twenties. For a young and restless adult who felt his life hadn’t begun yet, the night was a way to connect with similarly unsettled folk. The after-hours were foreign and nonjudgmental — a refuge from days of routine and post-college expectations. Through a round of shots or KTV, I stepped away from myself and, if I was lucky, found a compadre in crisis. Someone who empathized as I tipsily confessed to the embarrassing phases I’d gone through, my acceptances in environment and identity, and the person I thought I was at present.  

Nearing 30, I’ve needed those nights less. When they do arise, they’re a means to admit my anxieties about the quick passing of time, such as when my friend and I eventually settled into a jazz lounge in Makati and a quick Google of the film we were emulating revealed 10 years had passed since its release.

I needed a double-shot of Suntory after that.

‘Lost’ generation

 Through Lost in Translation, Sofia Coppola established herself as the director of a generation weaned on ‘90s angst and compelled to aughts earnestness. We ask a few Millennials (and near-Millennials) what the film meant to them.

Wanggo Gallaga, Scriptwriter

It re-asserted that you never ever really know who you are. These two people — one, older and established, the other, young and inexperienced — go through exactly the same things. It doesn’t matter what you’ve been through, you’re always searching for yourself.  

Chiara Cui, hummus entrepreneur

Back when I was 20, it meant that you could be in your twenties and not have it all figured out. That no matter where you were in life, you could always find someone who understood you in the exact way you needed to be. Hope that was coherent, I’m currently drunk at a bachelorette party.

Joseph Pascual, photographer

I’ve actually never seen the movie! I am a philistine — I never really watch anything at all. But I love the director Steven Spielberg.

Nicola Sebastian, Rogue associate editor

It was a film where nothing happened. No dramatic action, no twist, no resolution. It was two lost people making a connection — not for the future or to change their lives. Just two people finding someone they needed at one point in time. Maybe that’s all we can hope for — finding beauty and comfort in the fleeting, and loving it all the more for its imperfection.

Hannah Espia, director of Transit

Lost in Translation is one of the films that has inspired me immensely as a filmmaker. Because of this film, I have been so interested in making films that explore the idea of displacement. I have a PDF of the script and I read it whenever I’m about to write something new.

Coco Quizon, brand manager

I remember eating fast food after seeing the movie. On a whim, I chose McDo over Jollibee and ordered a Burger McDo over a Yumburger. After I finished eating, I felt a slight sense of contentment until I got up and realized I should’ve probably gotten Jollibee. The metaphor is stupid but Lost in Translation made me realize that we’ll always be lost — but at one point, although fleeting or dynamic, we’ll find something that’s right for us even if it’s just for that moment in time.