lost in translation
Part of the genius of Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation was her ability to insert two subtle Bill Murray pop-culture (self)references and have them actually enhance the emotional tone of the movie rather than crush it under the knowing wink of irony. Exhibit A: the man who essentially wrote the book on over-the-top lounge singers doing a delicate karaoke rendition of Roxy Music’s More Than This. Exhibit B: the audience connecting the dots between the younger Murray on the golf course in 1980 with the elder Murray stepping up to a Mt. Fuji-framed tee and hitting a picture-perfect drive with a picture-perfect swing.