I suppose all of my films have a common theme. If I think about it, though, the only theme I can think of is really a question: Why can’t people be happier together?
There is nothing that says more about its creator than the work itself.
If you look at everything straight on, there is nothing to be afraid of.
The films an audience really enjoys are the ones that were enjoyable in the making. Yet pleasure in the work can’t be achieved unless you know you have put all of your strength into it and have done your best to make it come alive. A film made in this spirit reveals the hearts of the crew.
It is the power of memory that gives rise to the power of imagination.
Take me, subtract movies, and you get zero.
I like unformed characters. This may be because, no matter how old I get, I am still unformed myself.
Human beings are unable to be honest with themselves about themselves. They cannot talk about themselves without embellishing.
In order to find reality, each must search for his own universe, look for the details that contribute to this reality7 that one feels under the surface of things. To be an artist means to search, to find and look at these realities. To be an artist means never to look away.
Human beings share the same common problems. A film can only be understood if it depicts these properly.
To be an artist means to search, to find and look at these realities. To be an artist means to never look away.
For me, filmmaking combines everything. That’s the reason I’ve made cinema my life’s work. In films, painting and literature, theatre and music come together. But a film is still a film.
Page 61: No matter where I go in the world, although I can’t speak any foreign language, 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 root of any film project for me is this inner need to express something. 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.
If you want to be a great director, be a great screenwriter.
The great appeal of film is its relatability.
A truly good movie is enjoyable too. There’s nothing complicated about it.
If I were to write anything at all, it would turn out to be nothing but talk about movies. In other words, take ‘myself,’ subtract ‘movies,’ and the result is ‘zero.’
The Japanese see self-assertion as immoral and self- sacrifice as the sensible course to take in life.
I have no idea who the characters are, later, their personalities take over anything I might want to do. 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.