Guest post by Shane Ledford. I recently ran across this collection of chance encounter stories, and found them to be uplifting accounts of unexpected connections while traveling in some form;.
It is the movie about Bob Harris Bill Murray , an aging and fading Hollywood star who goes to Tokyo, Japan to film a whisky commercial. Charlotte Scarlett Johansson , a young, newly married woman, is also in Tokyo accompanying her photographer husband who goes there for work. Bob and Charlotte have a chance meeting, and, consequently, explore Tokyo and their own thoughts and feelings over the course of a week.
As with my other mindfulness in film dialogues, plot points of the film will be discussed and contain spoilers. We are introduced to Bob Harris snoring in the back of a limousine only to be startled by the iconic bright neon lights of Tokyo. There is a picture of him on a billboard advertising a brand of Japanese whisky. He rubs his eyes, and one can sense he is wondering if he is still asleep and dreaming. After arriving to his hotel room in the luxurious Park Hyatt located in the Shinjuku district of Tokyo, a sleep-deprived Bob heads to the New York bar, located on the 52nd floor of the hotel.
I am specific about the name and location of this because the hotel and bar are also a main character in the film. A majority of the plot occurs here, and their alluring atmosphere also adds to the dream-like ambience of the movie. I should also mention that music is also a main character in the movie as well, and will discuss more on that later.
As Bob is seated at the bar, he is recognized by two American businessmen who are big fans of the films he once did. It should be mentioned that big-name Hollywood celebrities making commercials for television was not as common 20 years ago as it is today. However, several American celebrities did and still do travel to Japan to make commercials as it was a lucrative paycheck, and because of secrecy clauses, knew their commercials would not be seen in the States.
