In general, in all my films, I choose to create a certain mistrust, rather than claiming that what I'm showing onscreen is an accurate reproduction of reality. I want people to question what they are seeing onscreen. In the same way as I used the narrator, I also used black and white, because it creates a distance toward what's being seen. I see the film as an artifact rather than a reliable reconstruction of a reality that we cannot know.
Michael HanekeOn the set I make jokes I can't get too involved, or it turns into sentimental soup. I try to keep it light.
Michael HanekeThat is one of the characteristics of fascism, the idea that the state can provide all of the answers for everyone.
Michael HanekeWhen making a film, I'm never concerned about whether the theme is new or whether it's been done before in cinema or not. I'm led to make films if there's a theme that interests me or I experience something in my own life that confronts me with something that I want to deal with.
Michael Haneke