A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.A faded movie star and a neglected young woman form an unlikely bond after crossing paths in Tokyo.
- Won 1 Oscar
- 98 wins & 133 nominations total
Videos11
François du Bois
- Sausalito Pianoas Sausalito Piano
- (as Francois du Bois)
Diamond Yukai
- Commercial Directoras Commercial Director
- (as Yutaka Tadokoro)
- Director
- Writer
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
- All cast & crew
Storyline
Middle-aged American movie star Bob Harris is in Tokyo to film a personal endorsement Suntory whiskey ad solely for the Japanese market. He is past his movie star prime, but his name and image still have enough cachet for him to have gotten this lucrative $2 million job. He has an unsatisfying home life where his wife Lydia follows him wherever he goes - in the form of messages and faxes - for him to deal with the minutiae of their everyday lives, while she stays at home to look after their kids. Staying at the same upscale hotel is fellow American, twenty-something recent Yale Philosophy graduate Charlotte, her husband John, an entertainment still photographer, who is on assignment in Japan. As such, she is largely left to her own devices in the city, especially when his job takes him out of Tokyo. Both Bob and Charlotte are feeling lost by their current situations, which are not helped by the cultural barriers they feel in Tokyo, those cultural barriers extending far beyond just not knowing the language. After a few chance encounters in the hotel, they end up spending much of their time hanging out together, each helping the other deal with their feelings of loss in their current lives. The friendship that develops between the two, which is not always a bumpy-free one, may be just for this specific place and time, but it may also have long lasting implications. —Huggo
- older man younger woman relationship
- american in tokyo
- language barrier
- unlikely friendship
- loneliness
- 176 more
- Taglines
- Everyone wants to be found.
- Genres
- Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated R for some sexual content
- Parents guide
Did you know
- TriviaBill Murray's favorite film of his own.
- GoofsWhen John (Giovanni Ribisi) first runs into Kelly (Anna Faris) in the lobby of the hotel he calls her Anna.
- Crazy creditsAt the end of the closing credits, Hiromix (Hiromi Toshikawa), seen throughout most of the party sequence, waves to the camera.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Kevin Shields: City Girl (2003)
- SoundtracksBrass in Pocket
(1980)
Written by Chrissie Hynde and James Honeyman-Scott
Performed by Scarlett Johansson (as Scarlett T. Johansson)
Top review
Lost Souls
It's been a long time since a movie has made me hurt the way this one did. Perhaps "hurt" isn't the right word. "Ache" is more like it. I could so completely identify with both characters.
Bob is a middle-aged actor caught in a life which has lost its zest and purpose, doing what he "ought" to be doing (making money doing whiskey commercials) instead of doing what he WANTS to do (plays). And then a young, beautiful, intelligent woman enters his orbit. On that level alone, with its mute longing and sexual tension, I can identify with him.
And then there is Charlotte, a student of philosophy seeking herself, her soul lost and adrift. She doesn't know who she is, doesn't know what she wants. Her life is a quest for authenticity of self. And I identify with her because so much of my life I have been seeking the same thing.
This movie isn't for everyone. They will call it boring, lifeless, limp. There are people, I realize, who have never experienced that kind of longing, who had never sought meaning in their lives, and searched for their own lost souls. They live for the here and now, without giving a thought to the spiritual aspects of life.
A friend said introverts will love this movie, extraverts will hate it. I think that is a fair surface assessment. This movie is all about the inner lives of two people whose souls connect for a brief time in an alien city. It is a love affair not of bodies, but of minds and spirits.
Some this movie will make angry. Some this movie will make weep.
Bob is a middle-aged actor caught in a life which has lost its zest and purpose, doing what he "ought" to be doing (making money doing whiskey commercials) instead of doing what he WANTS to do (plays). And then a young, beautiful, intelligent woman enters his orbit. On that level alone, with its mute longing and sexual tension, I can identify with him.
And then there is Charlotte, a student of philosophy seeking herself, her soul lost and adrift. She doesn't know who she is, doesn't know what she wants. Her life is a quest for authenticity of self. And I identify with her because so much of my life I have been seeking the same thing.
This movie isn't for everyone. They will call it boring, lifeless, limp. There are people, I realize, who have never experienced that kind of longing, who had never sought meaning in their lives, and searched for their own lost souls. They live for the here and now, without giving a thought to the spiritual aspects of life.
A friend said introverts will love this movie, extraverts will hate it. I think that is a fair surface assessment. This movie is all about the inner lives of two people whose souls connect for a brief time in an alien city. It is a love affair not of bodies, but of minds and spirits.
Some this movie will make angry. Some this movie will make weep.
helpful•912155
- SECurtisTX
- Mar 29, 2004
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Tarjima mashaqqatlari
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $4,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $44,585,453
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $925,087
- Sep 14, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $118,686,937
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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