Married people from my generation are like an endangered species!

You may think it's very presumptuous, but I really hope that my movies are going to turn people into better people.

I never storyboard. I hate it. I don't understand why so many directors want to make comic strips of their films.

I like cinema. I am very fond of it. But from time to time I feel like having some time on my own.

No, but it’s not because I’m getting older that I’m trying to accelerate. But something very curious is happening: The older I get, the more ideas I’m getting.

But I won't work with the exact same crew film after film because I feel the work would get a little complacent.

When I was young, my idea was to become a filmmaker.

What I expect of a movie reviewer is that he should love cinema as much as I do.

Working with a bunch of actors is like trying to tune each violin.

I can zero in on subtle things because I'm holding the camera.

I like films that are well-written and concise and with not a lot of room for improvisation.

Comedy was one of those genres that while appearing quite jolly was actually highly dangerous.

...nearly everything seems a letdown after a writer has finished writing something.

I've spent a lot of time in my life dedicating myself to love or the pursuit of love or the understanding of love... I’ve stopped believing in happy endings. I’ve started believing in good days.

No one can undermine national unity.

Unless it hurts, unless there’s some vulnerability there, I don’t think you’re going to get good photographs.

The west was involved in toppling the Mossadegh government. That ultimately led to the Iranian revolution.

Some people need flowers, some people need dandelions. It's medicine, it's what you need at that time in your life.

Every man prefers belief to the exercise of judgment.

I am glad I am an optimist. The pessimist is half-licked before he starts.

The people you like when you meet them and while you know them, and the people you remember fondly, are invariably people who have a sense of comedy, not just a sense of humor.