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During the climax of the 2003 movie, Lost in Translation, the central characters, Bob & Charlotte share an emotional moment. During that time, Bob seems to have said something into Charlotte's ears, to which Charlotte nods. After that they separate and the movie ends.
Bob embraces Charlotte and whispers something (substantially inaudible to the audience) in the tearful Charlotte's ear. The two share a kiss, say goodbye and Bob departs.
What could it be that he said into her ears?
There is no specific answer. Pure guesses and speculations are only possible. Here are some of the surmisals from IMDB FAQ:
"I'm not saying it'll be easy...but go to that man and tell him the truth. Okay?"
"I HAVE TO BE LEAVING... BUT, I WON'T LET THAT COME BETWEEN US... OK?"
Alternatively it could also be "I love you. Don't forget to always tell the truth... OK".....
The director made it the way it should be - for each person to fill in what they feel was said. But it sounds like, "I love you deeply. When John gets back, tell him the truth. Okay?" This fits with the rest of the film in that she asked him for advice about marriage, and he was telling her not to make the same mistakes he had
Or: "Can I say something? Go to that man and tell him the truth. Okay?"
maybe this: "Sometimes you have to go halfway around the world to come full circle."
According to Sofia Coppola, writer/director of the movie, in this Vanity Fair article:
I’m pretty sure it was our last day of shooting. We were exhausted, so I think it helped that they really were saying goodbye. I didn’t intend [the end] to be a big thing. He whispered something between them. It came from the tradition of Italian movies—they would just say numbers and figure out the dialogue later. [But] then we left it. We never seemed to be able to sum it up. I always liked that Bill Murray says it’s between the two of them. [Everybody] asks what he whispers to her. I just don’t get why it’s such a thing, but I’m touched that people feel connected to it.
She offered a similar explanation recently:
Even today, she’s coy about the content of the intimate whisper, saying it’s open to interpretation.
“I was thinking about the Italians, because they used to film and add the sound later,” Sofia explained on the fourth episode of BBC Arts’ Life Cinematic, an series of in-depth explorations of film for BBC Four. “I didn’t intend for it to be silent and then in the editing we were like, ‘Oh it’s better if it’s just between them and the audience puts their own interpretation,’ it’s so much stronger that way.”
That episode is available here (after it is broadcast on 25 November 2020).
I think their point is to make us think about what he says. It could be anything. This is the mystery of it.
