“The great appeal of film is its relatability.”

To be an artist means never to avert one’s eyes.

It’s easy to explain the psychological state of a character at a particular moment, but it’s very difficult to describe it through the delicate nuances of action and dialogue. Yet it is not impossible.

While the cameras are rolling, I rarely look directly at the actors, but focus my gaze somewhere else.

They often reveal much about themselves in a very straightforward way. I am certain that I did. There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.

With a good script a good director can produce a masterpiece; with the same script a mediocre director can make a passable film. But with a bad script even a good director can’t possibly make a good film.

That is what makes a real movie. The script must be something that has the power to do this.

For truly cinematic expression, the camera and the microphone must be able to cross both fire and water.

He is still my favourite author, and he is the one – I still think – who writes most honestly about human existence.

The role of the artist is to not look away.

To be an artist means to search, to find and look at these realities. To be an artist means never to look away.

There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.

The truth is in the mystery.

What nurtures this root and makes it grow into a tree is the script. What makes the tree bear flowers and fruit is the directing.

I don’t feel out of place. I think of earth as my home. If everyone thought this way, people might notice just how foolish international friction is and the would be put an end to it.

The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.

I end up writing not from my own will, but from theirs-they come alive as I write and make me do things that I couldn’t have planned.