Sound Design - Lost in Translation

There are some movies which you see and the sound and music is so compelling that you can’t help but notice it. But there are even movies where you watch them from beginning to end and don’t even happen to realize that there were various background sounds and songs playing. The beauty of such films is that the sound becomes so seamless that it sort of gets engraved in the script without the viewer even realising it.

The 2003 film Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppolo is one such film. Right from the opening scene The sound of fax machine, Traffic of the city, all these diegetic sounds make sure the movie opens in a manner that gives it you a feeling that you are present in the film. The movie’s background score is provided by Kevin Shieldsand composers Brian Reitzell and Roger J Manning. Director Sofia and sound designer Richard Beggs chose some exceptionally appropriate songs for the movie as well.

Lead characters of Bob and Charlotte, played by Bill Murray and Scarlet Johanson respectively add life to the movie with their phenomenal work and portrayal of the characters. Subtly is the strength of this film. It doesn’t have many dialogues, especially in the beginning of the movie. This very well depicts the loneliness of characters and how they have no one to talk to. This absence of words in the film makes the sound an even more crucial part of the film and is responsible for taking the story forward.

Even the choice of songs by the director and Beggs couldn’t have been any better. A particular scene where the lead characters go for a Karaoke session, very well depicts the brilliance of the choice of music. The choice of songs for both the characters is such that it tells us what is going on in their minds without even saying a single word. It displays their moods without the audience having to rack their brains a lot.

On a summed up note, Lost in translation is one of the few movies, where even the silences speak. It tells us that great sound design is not about having peppy songs and a different background score for each scene. Rather, it happens when even the absence of sounds stirs some emotions in the audiences.