It’s one of cinema’s great mysteries: 20 years later, no one has been able to decipher the ending that was lost in translation.

This January 7th, it will be exactly 20 years since Lost in Translation hit our French screens. In addition to being a piece of cinema history – notably by winning the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay – Sofia Coppola’s iconic film is also known for leaving a mystery that, two decades later, still remains intact, the suggestion that the Internet is. Still trying to decipher: Bobby’s (Bill Murray) parting words to young Charlotte (Scarlett Johansson)…

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lost in translationIt’s about the business of Bob Harris, a down-and-out, middle-aged actor who is in Tokyo shooting a commercial, and Charlotte, a young woman who accompanies her husband on a trip to Japan. Both spend most of their time alone, so they meet at their hotel bar. A kind of mutual understanding is born between them, which leads to an unexpected friendship and even more…

for his feature film, Sofia Coppola He was inspired by his own childhood, when he followed his famous father, Francis Ford Coppola, from hotel to hotel, and also used his own experience in Japan when he was 25 years old to create this special world.

The scene that is still talked about today is the final meeting of the characters at the end of the film. On the way to the airport, Bobby sees Charlotte on the street. Since they didn’t actually say goodbye the day before, he breaks his run to go meet her. They end up hugging and Bobby whispers something in Charlotte’s ear, who nods. These are the words that movie lovers are still trying to guess.

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theories

You know, that’s how it was planned Bill Murray He makes the final proposal as he wanted – moreover, their last kiss was also an improvisation. Over time, speculations have multiplied and many believe that the actor whispered: “I have to go, but I won’t let this come between us, okay?“

When this theory was proposed Scarlett Johansson By Yahoo, while promoting Wes Anderson’s Asteroid City last year, a key stakeholder responded with a laugh:Oh my god, that sounds pretty profound. Probably much deeper than what was actually said!“

Another theory, most shared by internet users, would be that Bob whispered:You said the truth“or”Tell him the truthJohn, a reference to Giovanni Ribisi’s character, Charlotte’s husband in the film. So, according to a YouTube video that many believe to be reliable, the sentence would go something like this:When John is waiting for his next business trip… go to this man and tell him the truth. ok”, an option that matched the reality of the two characters.

What does Sofia Coppola think?

In 2018, in connection with the 15th anniversary of the film, Sofia Coppola He also mentioned this secret in an interview with Little White Lies.

What Billy whispers to Scarlett was never anything. I was going to figure out what to say later and add it, but we never did. It was between them, just acknowledging that this week meant something to both of them and that it had an impact on their lives back. People always ask me what they say. I always like Bill’s answer: that it’s among the favorites, so I’ll leave it there.

The riddle seems never to be solved unless Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson One day reveal the secret. Sofia Coppola Therefore he fulfilled his mission: for him, lost in translation is the movie “Misunderstandings between people and places“who is talking”of disconnected things and moments of connection“. Bob and Charlotte are two disconnected souls who meet each other in solitude. Therefore, what happens between them belongs only to them.

Celebrate 20 years of Lost in Translation by rediscovering the film streaming on Paramount+ and MyCanal.