Feelings

When December 27th arrived, Levi's Lost in Translation was finally released. However, it is different from the large-scale release that people imagined. 

In the first round of release, only twelve theaters played the movie.

This local approach is also relatively common in the film industry. However, this method is generally used in some literary and artistic films - compared with large-scale commercial films that are aimed initially at making money, literary and artistic fresh films often don't care much about the box office in the first week, but worry about no one watching it so that they will select partial screening.

Of course, you don't have to worry about anyone watching Levi's movies. However, this movie did not reach too many cinemas due to the rush of time. 

However, Levi was not aiming for big sales but for partial screening. As long as it can be released before the end of December, there will be no problem.

The film's opening was small, and there was no premiere, but even so, many people expressed their concern for the film. When the day came for Levi's movie to be released, many people chose to watch it.

Levi has also made love stories before - Emily is still considered a classic among classics. Everyone knows that his movie made Winona Ryder win the Oscar for Best Actress, and this time, it is also rumored that his film was made for Theron, so what will he make? This is quite exciting.

Each of Levi's movies will give people different surprises, and this movie was directly shot abroad. 

It stands to reason that this movie is not the first movie related to Japan this year; just a few days ago, there was also a movie shot by a Japanese director... 

Of course, that movie is definitely very different from this one. It was a horror movie, and this is a literary love story.

However, these are all movies related to Japan. So, will Levi make a different movie?

***

The lights in the distance brightened, and the movie's beginning showed the beautiful night view of Tokyo. From a few dim glow to the buildings in the distance starting to become clear, the beautiful scenery of Tokyo suddenly appeared in people's eyes.

This also made the audience excited. The film is shot quite beautifully. This is also a characteristic of Levi's films.

Soon, characters from the movie also appeared. 

First, there was the old man sitting in the car. He looked at the scenery outside through the car window. The character, played by Bill Murray, has a unique air of loneliness. It makes people feel quite depressed at first glance.

Through his eyes, the lens once again covered the night scene. The lens began to change. Although the background was still the night view of Tokyo, it was seen through a glass this time. 

The young woman sat on the windowsill, curled up, looking at the scenery outside the window. From the beginning, the loneliness of the two people was photographed with the longing for the scenery outside the window.

And what followed was indeed the same. The film's camera jumps between the lives of two people. People are starting to understand. 

The old man, a has-been actor, went to Japan to shoot a commercial. But after he arrived in Japan, everything seemed to go wrong. Work, life, family, and all aspects of the situation made him feel depressed, and a foreign country amplified his midlife crisis.

The woman is newly married. Came to Japan with her husband. The woman's life is equally unhappy; her husband is busy with his career. He has no time to take care of his wife. The woman boredly called her American friends, traveled alone, and arranged flowers when she had nothing to do, but she could not relieve her loneliness.

Both of them are lonely: a has-been actor whose work and life are not going well and a newlywed who came to Japan with her husband and has nothing to do but travel and arrange flowers. The loneliness of the two people has been fully revealed in front of people without any need to say more.

Then, like all movies, they met in a bar. 

This also made the audience sit up a little straighter: they wanted to know how Levi would interpret this story: an old man in a mid-life crisis and a newly married young woman. This combination can be said to be a very suitable partner for an extramarital affair.

For men in a mid-life crisis, young women can always remind them of their youth. For a newly married woman full of confusion, breaking the shackles of marriage also makes her feel excited. 

When two people like this come together, sparks fly easily.

Could this be an affair story?

Soon, the two people got to know each other and started chatting. The two people in a foreign country also began to find some happiness in their interactions with each other.

Game arcades, Buddhist temples, music, and night views no longer feel novel or uncomfortable to the two of them. There is a difference between being accompanied and unaccompanied. 

They start to play and adapt because, with the company of others, they quickly integrate into life.

By the time Charlotte wore the wig, Japan had begun to feel less foreign to her. And when she rested her head on the man's shoulder, the passion between the two reached its extreme.

But this kind of desire comes to an end here.

The old actor put the young woman on the bed, took off her shoes, pulled the quilt on her, and looked at her quietly. The woman smiled slightly. Obviously, she would not refuse the man at this time.

However, the man hesitated for a moment, then turned off the light and walked out of the house. Walking in the corridor, he looked quite lonely. Unmistakably, the girl was very attracted to him, but he chose to reject her.

Then, he called his wife.

Apparently, he was not without some influence. He was aroused and wavered between the family and the girl. He called his wife, trying to increase the weight of his family in his heart.

However, this is evidently not very useful. Even on the phone, the child's crying did not stop. The mid-life crisis in the old man's heart is still there, and such a phone call will only deepen his mid-life crisis.

Will this be a turning point?

After seeing this part of the movie, the audience can see what makes Levi's movies different from others. This does not seem to be a movie that praises true love. On the contrary, what he expresses appears to be a different mood.

The second half of the movie is still about the interactions between the two people. This time, the relationship between the two people became deeper. 

The woman begins to show her embarrassing side in front of the man and becomes more and more willing to accept him. 

After chatting, the two people lay on the bed and talked slowly, which also made the movie enter its climax.

The woman talks about her loneliness and her troubles in married life, while the man comforts her: This is not easy for the man, and he himself is experiencing a mid-life crisis. However, he still recalled his wife in front of the girl, told her how good she was, and talked about his children.

It seems that the woman is the one taking the initiative while the man is on the defensive. However, the two people in the shot, the man lying on his back, defenseless, and the woman hunched over with a guarded look, seemed to mean something.

For both people, the challenges of having an affair are huge. Neither of them has the courage to take the initiative to break the peace of their existing lives, and they both hope the other person will break it. 

However, the woman is even more confused and at a loss.

However, the man's answer was rejection.

He knew very well that there was no future for the two of them together. It was just a moment of loneliness that brought the two people together. Compared with the woman's confusion, he still had a sense of clarity in his heart. He knew what was best for the two of them.

This choice made the entire movie different: Unlike the extramarital affairs in countless films, in this movie, although two people had an emotional affair, they did not break the final boundary after all. 

They became friends, and they didn't tarnish the friendship. The old man held back his lust and gave the young woman some guidance on life. Obviously, this was much better than having sex just to relieve loneliness.

In the end, the man did not get together with the woman. Although the two of them were attracted to each other and close to each other, there was still no intersection in the end.

The man and woman parted ways and seemed never to see each other again. 

But the man's words were coming true.

The woman began to travel by herself, go to temples, watch Japanese weddings, and have fun alone. She began to realize the charm of Japanese culture, began to pay attention to these cultures, and let them integrate into her life. 

She made herself happy, and her husband, too, began participating in various Japanese entertainment activities and gradually integrated into Japanese cultural life.

As the man said, everything will be fine. In the first half of the movie, the loneliness of a foreign country is used to tell the confusion of the two people, while in the second half of the film, the loneliness of the foreign country is used to tell the story of the two people's confusion. 

Their lives have changed.

They began to integrate into Japan and were no longer as confused and helpless as before. Their loneliness was reduced, and they were less confused.

The man and woman met again. They spoke seemingly ordinary words but with an unexpected care. Both of them know that the love they once had will never come back again. 

At that time, the man chose to break the woman's predicament. He helped the woman, and the woman found herself.

When the two people looked at each other and smiled again, the affection between them was clear at a glance. Obviously, compared to the story of the movie, this kind of emotion is the focus of the film.

The man is leaving Tokyo and returning to the United States. At the airport, he said goodbye to the woman. 

And at the end of the movie, when the two people met again in the vast sea of people, they just looked at each other and smiled but never came together again.

This look conveyed more than any words.

*****

Thanks and kudos for my patreons 

Scott DePaepe

MMMCMXCIX, or 3,999

Britanna

Mandy G

Marcelo Maia

Danny York

DragonEz

You can read advanced chapters on my Patreon account: https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.