My favorite movies.

There are some obvious picks, considering The Hundreds has collaborated with them: Back to the Future, The Karate Kid, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and Rocky.

Then there are the not-so-obvious ones, like Arrival, Memories of Murder, and Toy Story 4.

A consistent Top 5 choice is Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation, starring Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson.

There are many reasons why I hold this film near. It premiered after I had spent some time living in Japan and it captured the feelings of alienation and homesickness that bedeviled me. There are some cool streetwear nods like rainbow Nikes and a Hiroshi cameo. I also appreciate that as I get older and find myself more in Bill Murray’s HTM Wovens (vs. the eager and inspired Giovanni Ribisi photographer character),  my relationship with it changes and deepens.

Lost in Translation is a love story, but not in the traditional presentation of Love with its syrupy romance and sex scenes and wedding bells. My friend Patrick used to have a blog called Love like Lightning, and that’s kind of how I see it depicted here. Love strikes unexpectedly, it’s glorious and awesome in its force, and it is gone. But, that’s not to say it wasn’t there. In that moment, it’s forever changed the earth and sky around it.

Most love stories actually end where the real work begins, so really what we witness is the promise of Love. In Lost in Translation, it feels like the promise IS the Love.

One of the most pontificated pieces of the movie is the final scene where the characters say goodbye and are separated. They reunite for a final embrace and Bill Murray’s character whispers something inaudible. 15 years later, when Coppola was asked what was said, her answer was sublime.

“It was between them. Just acknowledging that week meant something to both of them and it affects them going back to their lives,” she continued. “I always like Bill’s answer: that it’s between lovers—so I’ll leave it at that.”