Lost In Translation is Sofia Coppola's second feature (after The Virgin Suicides) and, as is to be expected from the girl with the famous name, she produces the goods.

The film is compelling, imaginative and simple. It tells of two lost souls in a frightening city who form an unlikely but impregnable friendship.

Bob Harris (played by Bill Murray - apparently Coppola wouldn't make the film unless he took the role) is a lapsed American movie star who has been invited to Tokyo to make a whisky TV advert. He also happens to need a temporary escape from his wife.

Charlotte (sexy newcomer Scarlett Johansson) has come to Tokyo from LA with her workaholic photographer husband (Giovanni Ribisi), who ignores her for a week.

Both are lost in a city that doesn't sleep (which doesn't help their insomnia much), and both are marooned in a hotel in the middle of the bustling city. In the hotel bar, to be precise.

This is where they meet and where a middle-aged man lost in his life begins an innocent but intense friendship with a girl in her early twenties, who is embarking on her adult life and simply doesn't know what to make of it.

The third protagonist of this tale is the city. Tokyo is a character as much as the two people, and plays a vital role in the connection they make.

Their whirlwind week is carried along by the pace of the vibrant city, and the intensity of their feelings - which grow with each passing hour - is mirrored by the streets of Tokyo, where no-one ever seems to stop talking, walking or just existing.

The atmosphere is irresistible and Coppola succeeds in ensuring that every member of the audience falls deeply in love with Ed, Charlotte and the city that seals their bond.

The beauty is in the simplicity. Who needs car chases or special FX to walk out of the cinema smiling?

Natalie Stone