Qu’est-ce qu’il a dit?
It’s a favourite trick of sophisticated directors, isn’t it? Have some characters in a film speak in a foreign language, but don’t offer any subtitles. It may be to emphasize their “foreignness”. Or so the viewer can empathize with a character who also can’t comprehend. Or it may just be a wink and a nod to the multilingual: here folks, if you’re smart and well-travelled, you’ll know what these folks are saying.
Who hasn’t wondered while watching The Godfather what all that Sicilian banter means. Effectively, yet infuriatingly, some of the dialogue is translated, and some of it isn’t. [Warning: spoiler alert! Skip this paragraph if haven’t seen it, then head straight to video store.] The scene where Michael shoots the Irish cop and Sollozzo in the diner is famous for its dramatic tension, but one of the under-appreciated components that adds to that tension is that the viewer can’t really follow the conversation preceding the moment, since it’s all in Italian.
Perhaps taking a page out of her father’s well-read book, Sofia Coppola used the same technique in Lost In Translation. One of the most comic and enjoyable scenes in the movie is when Bill Murray’s character is shooting the commercial and the Japanese director barks commands at him. Well, who hasn’t wondered what the heck he’s really saying? Admit it, some of you thought for a second that maybe it was just gibberish. Or maybe some in-joke that only Japanese-speakers would get.
Perhaps we’re not meant to know. But thanks to someone’s diligent efforts at a fan site, we can anyway: read the translated Suntory Scene.
Previously: The Right Typer, Not the Typewriter
Subsequently: The Devil’s Playthings
Comments
Yes, I DID wonder. But now that I know, it’s only made me wonder about the scene where Bill Murray appears as guest on that faaabulous pink Japanese talk show. What on earth is happening there?
— Megan | Mar. 23, 2004 — 5 PM
I watched the English version of Lost in Translation, and then watched it dubbed in French. The amazing thing is that quite a few of the pronunciation gags actually work in French as well as English. For example, the “lip my stockings” gag: she says what sounds like “lechez” (lick) but because of the l and r mixup she really means “arrachez” (rip).
— brad | Mar. 30, 2004 — 4 PM