Lost in Translation – Review

Lost in Translation

(Emperor Norton)
by Tim Den

I don’t know if the soundtrack makes the movie or vice versa. Lost in Translation, both the Sofia Coppola film and the soundtrack featuring the first new music from Kevin Shields (ex-My Bloody Valentine mainman) in 13 years, encompasses more visceral shades than a simple step-by-step breakdown could adequately describe. For example, I could tell you that the film is about strangers making connections in an unfamiliar city, or that the soundtrack has bands such as Air (who contribute an exclusive track), The Jesus And Mary Chain, and Death In Vegas. But such anatomical detailing fails to translate (sorry ’bout the pun) the lost-in-a-haze dreaminess that the Lost in Translation pieces deliver, the sort of fairytale wonder that suspends one’s belief in the reality around him/her. Like a fleeting one night stand that is so magical you wonder if it ever happened at all, Lost in Translation and its soundtrack encapsulates a sense of “brief magic” that all of us fantasize about, but most are too scared to experience because of the unbearable aftermath it might leave. Would you be able to live through such a fantastical episode without ever being able to return to it? Without constantly returning back to its memory like some sort of worshipped folklore? Would you be forever trapped in reflection? It’d be hard not to be, what with Squarepusher hypnotizing you with electronic serenades and Phoenix (by far the best contribution to the soundtrack) cradling you in anthemic pop. Lost in Translation is a feeling… a combination of desire, regret, and short-term happiness that can perhaps only be revisited through exquisite music such as the sounds found here. Others lost: Sebastien Tellier, Happy End, Brian Reitzell & Roger Manning Jr.
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