Lost in Translation simply showed what it's like to be lost in life. Johannsen's character calls up a friend and tells her that she didn't feel anything at the Buddhist shrine, and starts to cry. She recognizes what it is to wander without purpose - her counterpoint is Bill Murray who thought he lived a great life, and is now realizing that perhaps he hadn't. He is on the other end of life, and sees in her himself. Japan is the metaphor for their combined lostness - the foreign language, foreign setting, and bizarre cultural rules all combine, but it is when the two work together that they find at least a little contentment.
The movie is whispy, does not focus on any moment for too long, and does not unfold with a bullet point plot outline, or any of the typical narrative conventions. It simply floats, as the characters do, through a stage of life that is confusing and frustrating.
I brought the movie up because I'm feeling exactly that right now - I can't afford to go to school, but I don't want to continue my working-class job. Without PGC, I'd have very little to be excited for every day. Lost in Translation does not pretend that the questions can get answered and the problems solved - indeed, after the characters recognize how important each one is to the other, they are torn apart by their life obligations.
It's a bit poetic and a bit soft, but staggering and pitch perfect. I'm now realizing it's one of my favorites.