Lost in Translation (2003)

For a movie set in Tokyo, Lost in Translation has a weird habit of using Tokyo as the punchline. Half the Japanese characters exist so Bill Murray can look confused at them, and a couple of those jokes have aged like milk. That’s the real problem. Everything else is a quiet little miracle. Murray plays a movie star so jet lagged his face looks like it’s buffering, and Scarlett Johansson matches him beat for beat as a young wife staring out a hotel window at a city that never asked for her. Not much happens. They hang out at the hotel bar, sing karaoke, lie awake and talk about life. Sofia Coppola made it on a reported $4M and it grossed $118.7 million worldwide, which tells you a lot of people know this exact loneliness. An 8.3 because nobody has filmed insomnia better, even when the jokes punch sideways. $714 says you watch it at 2 a.m. on purpose and it hits twice as hard.

What works: Bill Murray’s tired, funny sadness and Scarlett Johansson’s quiet ache, plus a Tokyo that glows like a dream in the middle of the night.

What doesn’t: A lot of the jokes treat Japanese people as props for Bob to be confused by, and those scenes age worse every year.

Who it’s for: Anyone who has ever felt wide awake and very far from home in a nice hotel.