Lost in Translation

Visible crew/equipment: In the scene after Bob and Charlotte walk by Kelly singing in the lounge, Charlotte is lying awake in bed. When she gets up and is putting on her long-sleeve shirt, in the reflection of the window there is someone walking out of the room and closing the door.

Factual error: When Charlotte visits Kyoto she arrives by Shinkansen (bullet train) and walks along the platform past the end of the train as if she was leaving the station. The exits at Kyoto Shinkansen platforms are in the middle and not at the end. At the end of the platform is a barrier to prevent you walking down onto the train tracks. (01:14:05)

riku2

Lost in Translation mistake picture

Continuity mistake: At the karaoke, when Charlotte leaves the room for a smoke and Bob joins her, her head is next to the grey part of the wall. Cut to a front shot of them and her head is now on the zebra-patterned part. (00:52:30)

ployp

Continuity mistake: When Charlotte is on the phone to her friend from America, she mentions 'I even tried ikebana' even though we see her trying it for her first time in a scene about 15 minutes later. (00:13:40 - 00:30:30)

Deliberate mistake: In the scene where Bob and Charlotte first glance at each other in the elevator, the film has been reversed. 3 mistakes are visible. The first one is that the woman's Kimono is reversed, left side tucked into the right. All Japanese garments are always tucked in right side first. Only on the day of your funeral is the left side tucked in first. The second mistake is the lapel hole on Bob's jacket; it is shown on his right. The lapel hole is almost always on the left side of a men's suit or sport jacket. And in every other scene in the film, his lapel hole is on his left. The third is the birthmark by the ear and the 1 inch vertical scar on Bill Murray's cheek are shown on his right side. When in actuality, they are on the left side of his face. (00:08:00 - 00:08:35)

MovieDoc1200

Charlotte: Why do they switch the r's and the l's here?
Bob: Uh... for yuks. You know? Just to mix it up.
Bob: They have to amuse themselves, 'cause we're not making them laugh.

More quotes from Lost in Translation

Trivia: Charlie Brown is an actual friend of Sofia Coppola. His real name is Fumihiro Hayashi and he owns a fashion magazine in Tokyo.

More trivia for Lost in Translation

Question: Could anyone hear what Bob whispers into Charlotte's ear near the end of the film, just before he kisses her?

Answer: You're not meant to. Leaves you to decide what he says.

rabid anarchist

More questions & answers from Lost in Translation

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.