Every human being has a tendency to retract from what they do not know and, in these situations, they mostly go through a permanent state of embarrassment and discomfort. On the other hand, the same way we are subjected to anxiety caused by strangeness, we cannot reject the chance to identify when having experiences with which we are utterly unfamiliar. Throughout our lives, we occasionally have to deal with situations of otherness, followed by the possibility of empathy.

One’s attempt of immersion into another culture is a perfect example of this scenario. The production by North American filmmaker Sofia Coppola, Lost in Translation, depicts this theme in an absolutely brilliant way, as well as broadens our comprehension about everything that is involved in the process of translation.

How do we consolidate the effects of the psychological impact developed from the contact with the unknown? From where does the human capacity to define and recognize everything that causes impressions arise? Such questions were raised by Freud in some of his analytical studies dealing with our more obscure mental faculties. In The Uncanny (1919), it is assumed that all aspects and situations that have no coherence with somebody’s life find their ascertainment in their antithetical pair, e.g. in what seems to be the familiar. Thus, it is said that the uncanny represents the known – which inhabits the unconsciousness, represents the most hidden desires and needs to be deciphered. 

The entire narrative of the movie revolves around Bob and Charlotte, respectively played by Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, who were able to clearly disclose the apathy and anguish inherent to their characters. The scene is Japan, marked by its ancient traditions that merge together with the high technology and experience of a near yet far future. This further accentuates the contradictions of reality and emphasizes the idea of transition in time and space.

In this case, the story seeks to call attention to the diametrically opposite aspects of the relationship between the human being and a different culture, as well as the relationship with the other existing within. Therefore, the need to translate the cultural differences and the actual sense of the meaning resulted from the division of the being and its counterpart appear in an intense way, creating a permanent state of estrangement and establishes the passion of the characters on the screen.

In some of the scenes, there are no subtitles for the dialogues in Japanese, which leads viewers to feel exactly the same way as the characters do: incorporated in a completely new and strange environment.

 Bob, a Hollywood actor late in his career, who is involved with the shooting of a whiskey commercial, is flooded with instructions from the director but the translator only tells him to look at the camera and say what he is supposed to say. Lost, he faces the possibility of not being understood. Alienated, he feels as if he was transformed into a mere poster boy, who furthermore is also unhappy with the relationship with his wife.

Newly married Charlotte accompanies her husband, a famous photographer, on a job to Tokyo. Left alone and dismissed, she finds herself doubtful and anxious about her marriage, while expressing her resentment in an attempt to find the proper words to express her indecision. Charlotte and Bob get to know each other due to their shared disappointment, fear and helplessness. Both seek an explanation for the reality surrounding them and some means to translate what they experience. Above all, they live the conflicting correspondence of the other within themselves.

Each has to deal with the condition of bewilderment caused by the unknown, motivated by several perceptions towards whatever comes to them in a strange way. The ethnic and cultural differences are quite clear and marked in every moment of the movie; they connect the characters while they experience discomfort. Through exchanged glances and brief dialogues, Bob and Charlotte acknowledge that there is something similar in their lives. What follows is a close and familiar friendship, which allows for the representations that not only torment them but are also in constant need of translation.

On one hand, the movie revolves around the mismatches that arise from the difficulty of translating another language. On the other hand, it deals with the feelings and impressions resulting from the contact with the foreigner, which produces unrest and instability, as observed by Freud. However, it also addresses the chances of a possible match, as anything can be translated into familiar or become recognizable.

Translation is not only limited to the action of rendering words from one language to another. It goes beyond that and involves aspects of perception and the background of each individual. To translate is to recognize, and make acceptable to the mind what is unfamiliar and causes estrangement.

The relationships that are relevant to life and the unknown are constantly configured in this way. Every day man discovers something new that needs statements, but this will not always or perhaps, will never have an explanation. Thus, there is no doubt that existence falls into a system where mismatches are certain, while matches are only possible.