Cinecast Mailbag (8/17)

A long but provocative email from a listener in Japan...

Hi Adam and Sam,

I'm a British guy living in Japan. I really enjoy your show and listen every week. Yes, your listeners are spreading worldwide! I noticed Japan is slowly becoming a more significant topic in recent cinema discussion. Not only as a source of talent such as the acclaimed Miyazaki, mentioned briefly in last Tuesday's podcast, but also as a source of recent Hollywood horror remakes such as The Ring, The Grudge and most recently Dark Water, not forgetting the subject and setting of films such as Lost In Translation, The Last Samurai and the highly anticipated "Memoirs of a Geisha". Japan has rightly or wrongly proved itself as a rich source for filmmakers.

I take issue with a recent listener's email that made a comparison of greatness between Broken Flowers and Lost in Translation. If, like many people, you thought "Lost in Translation" was a touching, insightful art film, trust me, you are wrong. The subject matter was criminally under researched. It is so flawed with its unforgivably stereotypical phony "insights" about Japan and its people that the film loses all credibility. I realize the film is about two characters that feel lost and disconnected in their environment, but that's no excuse for endless scenes where Japanese people are repeatedly and inaccurately portrayed as bizarre to the point of mentally insane. I urge you, Adam and Sam, to watch the film again and confirm with me that there was not one scene in which any of the characters make any kind of connection or understanding of Japanese people without that irritating and condescending undertone. What also annoyed me was the lost opportunity of worthy subject matter. It drove me mad, and when smug director and writer Sofia Coppola scooped an Oscar, well, as you can imagine I was thrilled...

Keep up the great work.

Giles Mitchell, Japan

P.S. Please include "Lost In Translation" in your top 5 overrated movies and I can forgive Sam's shocking review of "Four Brothers"!

I'm not sure anything can forgive Sam's review of "Four Brothers," Giles! I think one could argue that "Lost In Translation" is still a "touching, insightful art film" even if it isn't particularly insightful -- or is just plain wrong -- about Japanese culture. I'd love to take your challenge and revist the film, paying close attention to the "irritating and condescending undertone," but when there are so many movies I still need to see, I doubt I'll find the time to watch "LIT" again anytime soon. Considering I've only seen the movie once -- and enjoyed it, but was not blown away by it -- and know very little about Japan and its people, I really can't argue with you. But it is worth noting that you certainly aren't alone in your criticism. Asian Mediawatch sponsored a campaign again "LIT" for the way it "dehumanizes the Japanese people by portraying them as a collection of shallow stereotypes who are treated with disregard and disdain...

The film has no meaningful Japanese roles, nor is there any significant dialogue between the main characters and the Japanese. Such portrayals perpetuate negative stereotypes and attitudes that are harmful to Asian Americans in the United States where a significant minority of Americans already have negative attitudes towards Asian Americans."

For her part, Sofia Coppola was surprised by the charges: "I can see why people might think that, but I know I'm not racist. I think if everything's based on truth, you can make fun, have a little laugh, but also be respectful of a culture. I just love Tokyo, and I'm not mean-spirited."

Like Coppola, I understand the complaint, but reflecting on my lone viewing of "LIT," I certainly never got the impression that she was being mean-spirited or deliberately trying to portray Japanese people in a bad light. The whole discussion reminds me a little bit of the complaints by the family of Max Baer, Jr. for the way he was portrayed in "Cinderella Man" -- as a loud-mouth, womanizing thug. Ron Howard's response was that he wasn't telling Max Baer's story; he was telling Jim Braddock's story, and that's how Braddock and his family viewed Baer. I'm not sure how compelling this argument is, but it seems sufficient to me... and perhaps applicable here. As you pointed out, Giles, "LIT" really is just a story about two lost characters, "disconnected in their environment." It's not a story, ultimately, about Japan or the Japanese people. Maybe all those two characters really noticed was the "bizarre" behavior.