Because in the feudal system of that period at least 80% of people lived in villages, so it's very simple to get a cross-section of society in a single village. You get the microcosm of the social macrocosm.

Of course, we avoid death. To know something is inevitable is one thing. To accept, to truly feel it... that's different.

As a European filmmaker, you can not make a genre film seriously. You can only make a parody.

I'm not someone who enjoys long talks, long rehearsals. I'm very technical: I tell my actors, you come in, you sit down, you pick up a coffee, you look here, you say the line. We try it with the cameras rolling, and if it doesn't work, we adjust it until it does. It's very simple.

It's much harder to write a script that involves two people in a single location than 20 people in 30 different locations.

Like every filmmaker, I make my films to reach the widest audience possible.

Awards are important for all directors because they improve your working conditions. You're only as good as your last film, so if you get prizes or large audiences, then you get more money for your next film.