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I watched LiT again today, and I started thinking about the role that photography plays within the narrative of the film. I haven't drawn any conclusions about these elements yet--I guess I'm still just finding different bits of related content. Maybe after listing these moments here, someone will have some thoughts about how they might connect and speak about the film in a larger sense... That said, here are the representations of photography that I can recall--not, alas, in chronological order:

John is a photographer (Kelly says she wants only him to shoot her)

Bob participates in the photo shoot for Suntory (relation to above: John photographs others/Bob is photographed by others)

Photographs (ads) of Bob are posted all around Tokyo. (Charlotte and Bob see a giant one together while running at night after the strip club scene at Orange.)

Charlotte gets a photograph of sorts (X-ray) taken of her foot.

Charlotte claims to have had a photographer phase ("dumb pictures of your feet" ...There is a CU shot of Bob's feet at the end of the fire alarm sequence towards the end of the film. Is this shot referencing Charlotte's previous statement given that this would be a Charlotte POV shot?)

Charlie Brown takes a "gorgeous" photo of Charlotte together with one of the Japanese fashion women.

Shortly after the previous point, Bob takes a polaroid of Charlotte "Cheese...Cheese-O!" (Bob looks at this photo later in the film...when returning from the shoot for Matthew's Best Hit TV, I think...) This is the only photo I think we see Bob take in the whole film.

There are polaroids of John and Charlotte seemingly taken by John himself (before the time frame of the film) by holding the camera at arm's length. (Charlotte looks at these photos when alone in her room about 75% of the way through the film.)

Before Bob's final departure from the Park Hyatt, a group photo is taken with the Suntory entourage. In these photos, Bob is always looking away towards the elevator (into which Charlotte has just disappeared) and then turns his eyes back towards the camera seconds after each shot was snapped. (A very emotional moment)


So...maybe there's no connection to be drawn out from these diverse moments. If that's the case, I guess I just made a nice list. However, do post if some connection among any of these items comes to mind.

Great observation. First thing that comes to mind is that taking a picture is to remember that moment. Such a special and unexpected love and friendship bloom between two characters thrown together from different walks of life. All the pictures taken and shown throughout the movie seem to suggest to me that life is precious, treasure it, remember it, capture it, hold onto it, let it move you and awaken you. That one polaroid Bob has of Charlotte is something you know Bob will treasure; and it will always bring to mind that amazing week he spent in Tokyo whenever he looks at it.

Thanks for the reply, Pitman. Those were some great points. What you wrote made me think a bit more about the nature of photos, and, while I agree with what you said about photography as a means of capturing a moment and helping us to treasure and hold on to those truly fine times, I also think photos could play the opposite role simultaneously. That is, whenever you look at a photo, you're looking into the past. It's almost as if every photograph whispers, "It's over. This happened, but it's not where you are right now." That can sound quite depressing, but I think it needn't necessarily be. (Though as someone who tends to hold on to the past a lot, I feel I may be telling this to myself...)

To me, this is why the film overall has that wonderfully bittersweet vibe--the kind that makes me revel in both the joyous connections as well as the missed opportunities and moments of disconnection. The nature of photography--both nourishing and binding the viewer with references to the past--may represent in microcosm the emotional tone of the whole film.

Also, this whole idea of the past being represented in photos makes me wonder about where (or when, more appropriately) the past ends and turns into the present. Chances are, that polaroid that Bob has of Charlotte will always be a deeply treasured and powerful item for him. Yet, I'd imagine that he'd respond differently to it once back in the States as opposed to when he looks at it in the cab during the film. The change in his reaction, though, would probably not occur instantaneously--to me, these changes are more subtle and drawn out---at the rate at which the past becomes the present, which is obviously completely variable and subjective.

All this, in turn, makes me think more of Charlotte's question to John early on about the scarf that she'd been knitting: "Do you think this is done?" I think that, metaphorically, Charlotte shows in this question that she's willing to grapple with issues of time and things being or not being "done" (that is, "completed"). For John, this extra layer of meaning doesn't seem to register. From his point of view, the issue is just about how long Scarlett's scarf should be--and how would he know that? But, I think, for her, she's asking quietly about the way something moves from being "in progress" to being "done." Indeed, as she says to Bob on the bed with a hint of concern, "I just don't know what I'm supposed to be."

Not to go too far aground here, but I think there's a great song that addresses these same issues. It's called Up Above the Daily Hum, by The Flaming Lips. Just thought I'd mention that...

The future is endlessly becoming the present, and the present is endlessly becoming the past. It's like we're caught in a cross-stream of multi-dimensional confluences which begin and end in our perception, which is the mind and awareness we have been gifted with. When does the past become the past? When is the present the present? The moment, and the awareness of the moment is ever-fleeting. Life doesn't stop for anyone, anything. If one could focus all one's mind and awareness into the exact moment of being, then time would cease to exist as we know it. Most of us, however, in varying degrees have our perception stretched out into the future and the past, with a small portion of it in the exact here and now. The moment we think about something, we remove it from the present and shift it into a other-than-present moment.

I agree with you about Bob's change in perception of the photograph. Due to changes in enviroment, being back with his family, and the amount of "time" that has elapsed after his Tokyo trip, and a whole host of conditions which will impact his state of mind over that time, he will probably think about it differently. Who knows, he may be harbouring a sort of regret that he wasn't brave enough to take that relationship to the next level, and that may be the feeling triggered. But, as I would prefer to believe, since they parted on positive terms, whenever he glances at the picture it will be like opening a window into the past (which is now the present) to evoke all those original feelings or warmth, trust, and kidredness he had with Charlotte.

But, who knows?