journal features

seing lost in translation

the journal of Michael Werneburg

twenty-seven years and one million words

Toronto, 2003.09.24

My gal and I met with Geoff and Mariko to see the movie 'Lost in Translation'. It was really very good. Who would have guessed that Bill Murray could pull off such a delicate acting job so brilliantly?

Geoff and Mariko had an assortment of Asian and Asian-resident friends there, and those with some Japanese experience related what they'd seen. Apparently, the sentiment expressed in the movie is quite faithful to the real experience.

In the cinema, a crowd of a dozen people or so arrived just before the lights went out. Much to my amazement, I saw Nelson Costa among them. I called to him, and he and Geoff had a bit of a reunion. After the (excellent) flick, we went for some $7 drinks (rrrr - Yorkville) and caught up. Nelson was as lively and interesting as ever.

rand()m quote

Remove everything that has no relevance to the story. If you say in the first chapter that there is a rifle hanging on the wall, in the second or third chapter it absolutely must go off. If it's not going to be fired, it shouldn't be hanging there.

—Anton Chekhov