Emotions serve characters' purposes. That is their motivation.

If the movie is quiet I generally feel the audience is busy. That's when they're working.

Meanwhile, the Ice Storm was still in development, And that was something I really wanted to do, and frankly I don't think I was ready to do a big production like this.

I grew up pretty much prevented from knowing anything from Communist China except that they were the bad guys that stole our country.

When I grew up, in Taiwan, the Korean War was seen as a good war, where America protected Asia. It was sort of an extension of World War II. And it was, of course, the peak of the Cold War. People in Taiwan were generally proAmerican. The Korean War made Japan. And then the Vietnam War made Taiwan. There is some truth to that.

Beautifully-acted and precisely observed, ILO ILO is an amazing debut, full of heart and intelligence.

Now I'm kind of established as a director, I much prefer directing to writing.