Lost in Translation Scene 1 Summary

  • We open on, well, it's a butt. More specifically, it's Charlotte's butt. In lacy underwear.

  • Cut to Bob Harris in the backseat of a car. He's drowsy, and he's being driven through Tokyo at night. The city is busy, bright, and crowded. He passes a billboard ad for whisky featuring none other than…Bob Harris.
  • At the Park Hyatt Hotel, Bob meets with a team from Suntory whisky led by a pleasant woman named Kawasaki. He says he's heard of her before. Gotta love that Japanese motorcycle humor.
  • The Suntory execs give Bob gifts and they all make plans to meet in the morning. Looks like he's here to shoot some more ads.
  • Someone from the hotel staff hands Bob a fax. It's a note from his wife, Lydia, that reads: "You forgot Adam's birthday. I'm sure he'll understand. Have a good trip."
  • Bob rides the elevator. It's filled with Japanese men; Bob's a foot taller than all of them.
  • In the lobby, Bob's greeted warmly by just about everybody he passes. Maybe this isn't the first time he's participated in the grand tradition of American celebrities escaping to Japan to hawk products they'd never shill for in the States.
  • We get a quick shot of Bob sitting on the edge of his bed, wide awake; then we cut to the hotel bar. An American cover band is playing some tunes, and Bob's perched at the bar, drinking whisky and smoking a cigar.
  • Two fan-bros recognize him and geek out; turns out Bob's a bona fide movie star. They gush, he leaves.
  • Bob lays in bed in the middle of the night, still wide awake. The fax machine in his room loudly whirs to life. It's another missive from his wife; this time, she wants to know what kind of shelves he wants. Bob stays in bed.
  • Cut to Charlotte sitting in the window of her hotel room, looking at the city below. Her husband, John, snores loudly in the nearby bed.
  • She gets back in bed and asks John if he's awake. He tells her to go to sleep, and they snuggle up. Then he starts snoring again, and she bolts.