Lost in Translation: Sophia's Farce??

The article here is only the first post from Imomus.com. The article is title "Lost on Me" and contains a great deal of insight into the acting of the characters in Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation. The following quote is taken from the article explaining Bill Murray's comedy:

Does Murray's charisma have to come at the expense of someone else all the
time? (Let's not even talk about the portrayal of the prostitute or the
commercial director.) In a hospital scene, an old lady asks Murray why he took
this long trip to Japan. Murray responds again by playing to the gallery, miming
her as if she were doing a ludicrous choreographed song. He's the odd one out,
the foreigner, and yet he's treating those around him as if they were
foreigners. This is bad manners and bad traveller etiquette. It prompts the
question, is it possible to be American and foreign? I suspect the answer is
'No', at least if one is in an American film, wherever it may be set.

The author describes, in great detail, the other actors and actresses and they're strong points and weaknesses in the film. There is also a great deal of ideological analysis which analyzes the socialogical behavior in the film.

Post-Occupation Japan

Ran, directed by Akira Kurosawa, was filmed in 1985. This period in Japanese History is known as Post-Occupation since the American occupation had recently ended in 1952. The article from Wikipedia explains that by the 1980's, the Japanese economy became incredibly strong again, and was a main contender with the USA, causing a strained relationship. Japan had also become a major supplier of arms to the United Nations during the Korean War and despite its agreement never to have an army again since WWII, Japan had built a Self-Defense Force. This was with strong encouragement from the United States due to the growing tensions of the Cold War with The Soviet Union. The period, though prosperous for Japan, is marked with increasing tensions between many different nations.