Narrative: the attenuation of ‘classical’ form

The narrative dimension is one in which Lost in Translation is most clearly marked as a product of the indie sector, its primary defining feature being its comparative slightness. Lost in Translation is a production in which, by mainstream standards, relatively little happens. Plotting is restricted largely to the development of the relationship between Bob and Charlotte, a relationship that itself, as seen in the previous chapter, refuses to conform to more conventional ‘romantic’ expectations, despite the employment of certain devices familiar from the template of romantic comedy. Lost in Translation fits, in this respect, into a wider tendency, particularly at the lower-budget end of the indie sector, towards the use of downplayed narrative frameworks. These stand in contrast to both the heightened worlds, plot-points and arcs typical of the Hollywood mainstream and the more complex narrative structures favoured by certain other strains of independent production. The downplayed version can in some examples be understood as a more or less direct response to practical/financial limitations, scenarios of this variety generally requiring fewer resources. It can also be a strategy more central to the creative logic of the work, however, as seems clearly to be the case in this instance.