Groovy:)
Reminds me of Mystery Train by Jim Jarmusch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q_wORl1xJk

He sets fire to a girl in the audience, apparently it went out in time?

When you like this, you'll like Jim Jarmusch's Mystery Train as well:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097940/

i love mystery train, especially that first segment. cold fever is also very, very good and does the "strangers in a strange land" bit right.

lost in translation is pretty much a melodrama about American exceptionalism. or a collection of gently-lit scenes concerning narcissism with music. I like the poster.

"strangers" have to try hard to mix into the new place. a japanese star visiting new york city would expect to speak english and wouldn't be bothered to find american things there. american things are "normal", they're not "strange". if you're not from "america" (culture), when you go there, it's not strange -- YOU'RE strange.

it's not universal. you can't make the movie in reverse. imagine "mystery train", if the japanese couple goes to memphis and doesn't like elvis and thinks rock and roll is "strange" and boring. imagine they think the hotel bathroom is disgusting because the toilet and the bathtub are in the same room, instead of separate like normal, clean people do (i still think this way). no way.