While 'Babel' is a foreign-language film in some countries, in others, it is a local film.

To make a film is easy; to make a good film is war. To make a very good film is a miracle.

I started off writing TV adverts. I saw those as rehearsals for a feature film.

The expected vertical line of Ikiru's narrative breaks when Kurosawa does a flash-forward in the middle of the film.

Ultimately, with every film I'd done before, there was a reference. They have their own uniqueness, but there was always a precedent.

That incredible bubble and high expectations built at festivals can work against a film.