Take opera for example - to go to the opera you have to dress up in a tuxedo and pay lots of money.

I'm getting a little bored by the juxtaposition of American and other cinema. I no longer think this division is as true as it might have been in the 1980s, or the early part of the 90s.

Without dreams, there can be no courage. And without courage, there can be no action.

My advice is, don't spend money on therapy. Spend it in a record store.

Every photo, every 'ONCE' in time is also the beginning of a story starting 'once upon a time...' Every photo is the first frame of a movie.

Film is a very, very powerful medium. It can either confirm the idea that things are wonderful the way they are, or it can reinforce the conception that things can be changed.

The more opinions you have, the less you see.

I think sometimes you have to just imagine something that looks pretty impossible. By imagining something that is impossible, automatically you wish you could make it possible.

For years all I seemed to be doing was lobbying politicians and others to persuade them that European culture needed movies, and that we had to protect it.

Photographs put time into such a perspective. They humble us and our selfish memories.

Any film that supports the idea that things can be changed is a great film in my eyes.

Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labor does the body.

There's joy in every circumstance. The beginning is bitter, but in between, there are valuable lessons that bring joy.

When you are isolated and obscured, your achievements may be wonderful but unknown.

I'm not a genius. I'm just a tremendous bundle of experience.

In my mind I'm a blind man doin' time.

Looking for meaning in the ordinary seems like the most urgent thing that we can do.

Negative people are worse than negative occurrences. The argument is over in ten minutes - the person may hang around for years.

I don't want the big flashing lights and red carpet, like, "Here comes another Bon Iver album!" I just want it to be my bedroom-y thing. But that'll take a while to figure out.

The blues is also existential and offers a sense of mature reflection that enabled it to be the leitmotif of modern life.

The attitude with which we approach the situation can determine our success or failure.