Homework - Lost in Translation (2003) vs. Marie Antoinette (2006)

[DaltonMaltz 1119]

Next week, Amy will be joined by Stephanie Zacharek of TIME to go head to head with "Lost in Translation" vs. "Marie Antoinette."

 

"Lost in Translation" can be viewed on Amazon Video here: http://a.co/fQKwLUN

 

"Marie Antoinette" can be viewed on Amazon Video here: http://a.co/cZq5vSD

[Marsellus_H 118]

Just watched both of them. Any early calls, Ladies and Gentlemen?

[HoldenMartinson 221]

There's no way it doesn't go Lost in Translation, which is not to say Marie Antoinette isn't a good film. It's a Rocky v. First Blood type of deal, or The Wild Bunch v. The Getaway. Lost in Translation just has so much cultural caché that it'd take a miracle for it to lose.

[gene_shallot 79]

I like Marie Antoinette a lot, but it's a divisive movie whereas Lost in Translation seemed just about universally acclaimed. At least at the time (unless there's been critical reevaluations? backlashes? no one tells me these things). Agreed, I'll be shocked if it's even close.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

I like Marie Antoinette a lot, but it's a divisive movie whereas Lost in Translation seemed just about universally acclaimed. At least at the time (unless there's been critical reevaluations? backlashes? no one tells me these things). Agreed, I'll be shocked if it's even close.

 

White privilege/cultural appropriation was one of the backlash-y criticisms for Lost in Translation, as I recall.

 

I didn't fully agree, but some scenes could support such a reading. (I still thought it was a great film.)

[AbeFroman 70]

The correct answer is The Virgin Suicides. It's still her masterpiece and very Canon worthy.

[gene_shallot 79]

White privilege/cultural appropriation was one of the backlash-y criticisms for Lost in Translation, as I recall.

Ah interesting, I think I've heard similar about The Beguiled (although that may be more about casting & adaptation choices). Wonder if they'll mention any of that in the episode.

 

The correct answer is The Virgin Suicides. It's still her masterpiece and very Canon worthy.

Really need to get off my butt and finally watch it.

[HoldenMartinson 221]

Re-watched both, and it's not even close. There's a gentle magic to Lost in Translation, despite its myriad of imperfections. It hits all the right beats, and gets its biggest moments just right. Looking through a more socially conscious lens, it's not really insensitive, nor does it appropriate anything. I mean, I like Marie Antoinette fine, but I just can't get excited about it. I don't feel it the same way I feel Lost in Translation. That's what it comes down to for me.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

Re-watched both, and it's not even close. There's a gentle magic to Lost in Translation, despite its myriad of imperfections. It hits all the right beats, and gets its biggest moments just right. Looking through a more socially conscious lens, it's not really insensitive, nor does it appropriate anything. I mean, I like Marie Antoinette fine, but I just can't get excited about it. I don't feel it the same way I feel Lost in Translation. That's what it comes down to for me.

 

Right now, my feeling is that I appreciate what Marie Antoinette is doing intellectually, but Lost in Translation in its best moments (which are plenty) just casts a spell. That's the best way to describe it, a kind of perfect alchemy in the way sound and image come together. Movies like that don't come along too often.

[Muthsarah 124]

I've seen Lost in Translation at least three times, and Marie Antoinette twice. The latter has a rough road to climb to catch up to even the shallow exuberance of the former. I suspect the use of late-20th-century pop music was meant to put the viewer into the inner world of Marie and her friends, but it only served to alienate me. I know Baroque/Classical music, and I love it. It was always a huge disconnect to me. I think I would have preferred a movie that didn't lean on ANY music to tell its story. Then again, I adore "Barry Lyndon",and its 18th-century score worked perfectly well for me in its setting.

 

Just a heads-up that I'm probably kinda-sorta-biased based on a very deliberate artistic choice. Yeah, LiT is the easy favorite. And it'll take a hell of an argument to turn my head around on this issue. Not that "Marie Antoinette" isn't a quality picture, but - for all of LiT's controversey (disclaimer I R the whiteness) I found it irresistable. The latter...I had to fight with, constantly, to qualify both my knowledge of the actual subject (I've read up on Marie and Louis and the grandpa Louis and company) and on the very real disconnect I had viewing a music video two centuries removed. Kinda got in the way, it did, whereas the more modern movie didn't have any sort of problem, so I could drink in its visuals and soundtrack without any distraction.

 

It makes a difference in the viewing. It makes a BIG difference. "Marie Antoinette" is a bold, remarkable historical bio-drama. But which film is the more notable watch? Which leaves the bigger impression?