Talbert Pipes Life in France Adventures Movies Photo by Yoshio Sato - © 2003 Focus Features. All Rights Reserved. "Lost in Translation", and other films One little slice of popular entertainment that we've become keenly conscious of since moving overseas is the "soul-searching ex-pat" book and movie. Everyone knows these, with titles like "A Year in Provence", "Under the Tuscan Sun", "French Kiss", "At Home in France", etc. The theme is nearly always the same, to the point that Emily and I now joke about them. I offer my parody: Under the Breton Mud Offbeat, unsettled American (or Brit, in some cases) takes a wild whim and buys a ruin in the Olde Country, where hijinks ensue with cute problems like crumbling plaster and goofy neighbors. Fortunately, all the quaint villagers speak English, though with cute accents (except for the lovely old couple whose presence is heartwarming) and there are no gas stations or Auchons in sight. Hardly any cars, for that matter. Through trauma and heartbreak, eventually our heroes realize they have been living in the movie set for the Shire instead of a real town, and finally South Park's Stan steps forward to announce, "I've learned something today" as everyone gazes soulfully into a beautiful CGI sunset over fields of grapes and smiling peasants. The real experience is nothing like that, and Emily and I just laughed our way through "Under the Tuscan Sun" recently. What amazes me about so many of these things is the amazing mountains of cash these folks seem to have, that they can afford to buy these ruins and then have them torn down and rebuilt by the charming rural country folk, and spend month after month painting and plastering and not working any sort of job, with no apparent bills to pay. I don't mean to be overly harsh on these things, especially since they're good for a giggle, but they do tend to give people an entirely over-romanticized view of the whole idea of picking up your worldly goods and moving to another country. However, I've encountered a few rare gems that tell it right. In books, there is Herman Wouk's "Don't Stop the Carnival" - an entertaining comedy unless you're genuinely considering such a move, at which point it becomes terrifying. In film, we've just seen our first "real" expat movie in "Lost in Translation". I was moved to write about this just because so MUCH of "Lost in Translation" nails the experience perfectly. For those that aren't familiar with the film, it stars Bill Murray as an aging actor who flies to Japan to shoot a whiskey commercial, then finds himself trapped in a very alien culture for days on end. He forms a bond with a young American woman that he meets, played by Scarlett Johansson, and the two of them grapple with the strangeness of life in a foreign land. This is not a movie for the "Year in Provence" people welded to the fantasy of a romantic romp in an old world setting full of leisurely evenings with wine on the balcony. While glaring Tokyo is a world away from the coasts of Brittany, we spent most of the movie shaking our heads in awe of all the little details that are so accurately portrayed. Just off the top of my head: The vacuous, dazed state that Murray arrives in, thanks to a day on a plane and major jet lag, and the surreal feeling of suddenly being in a foreign culture and going to bed after you've finished your breakfast. REAL foreign language, without subtitles. We don't know what they're saying, he doesn't know, and that's life, no matter how important the conversation may be. Foreign people speaking limited English the way they really speak it, which is not like Kevin Kline with a French accent, but more like, "Huh? Was that English? I think I understood the words 'you', 'submarine', and 'sandwich' in that conversation." Getting phone calls and faxes at 4am from family and business associates in the US who don't think about the time difference. The potent distancing effect of calling home and hearing about the trivialities of daily annoyances in the US as you stare out the window at a country full of people whom you can't even ask for directions. The sheer sense of isolation. The bizarre, often hilarious mishaps as you try to communicate the basic essentials of life through tiny pieces of another language. "Foot...dead...Need help doctor please.. Thank you, you nice...Doctor now?" Sitting up at 4 in the morning yourself, because your body clock spent 36 years programmed to think this is 10pm. Being dragged to strange and bizarre parties and social events solely because you are a foreigner to them, and therefore an interesting oddity. Bill Murray had his talk show appearance for public humiliation; we've been in numerous radio interviews, newspaper articles, and there's an unnerving possibility of a TV spot. Being appalled and occasionally downright horrified when you actually do encounter people from your own country, and see just how shallow and loud they can come off overseas. Everything is a different size - The dinner glasses are thimbles, the people are smaller, and the bed is big enough for my leg... (Well, ours is perfect, but that's because we brought our mattress from the US) The food-ordering scene. Followed by the food arrival scene. The eerie omnipresence of US pop songs and recognizable music and movies, all translated and surrounded by a different language. The occasional inexplicable folks who, even after learning you don't speak their language, will carry on talking to you as normal, leaving you with nothing to do but smile and stare vacantly because all you hear is, "Bibblebibblebibblebibble...bibble? Bibble! Bibblebibble." I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that if I were talking to anyone contemplating an overseas move, this is the movie I'd suggest watching. While the characters are only visiting Japan, much of the experience is the same. Two thumbs up from this reviewer!