Western civilization shapes the content of my films, provides me with subjects that haven't been used before.

The French don't seek out alliances except when there are difficulties.

But if I didn't read, I'd think, and thinking, when you come down to it, is the most painful thing of all, and the most monopolizing

I don't think that my films are 'literary'; they are based on the most ordinary things of life.

I don't owe my success to state subsidies but to a faithful public which has sustained me.

The French are very individualistic.

A good film is also a documentary