The more elaborate your narrative, the more the spectator shuts up and listens obediently. And if the filmmaker keeps quiet, the spectator will himself project his own assumptions and sentiments onto the screen. Bruno Dumont More Quotes by Bruno Dumont More Quotes From Bruno Dumont The landscape is a reflection of the inner life. Since I can't shoot the inner life, all I can shoot is the exterior but I know that when I'm filming outside, I'm filming inside. I can only really touch the inside through the mise-en-scene. So through the mise-en-scene of the outside we can explore the inside Bruno Dumont landscape scene reflection Cinema is all about going back from shadow to light and back and forth: cinema is a place of transgression. Bruno Dumont cinema shadow light The battle between two men over a girl is the same as the fight for two men over a piece of land. It is all about desire. There is no difference between a love triangle and the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Bruno Dumont girl fighting men I like the idea of challenging Hollywood on its own turf. It's important to do that. Bruno Dumont important challenges ideas The United States is such a potent political, cultural, and economic model in the evocation of the contemporary world, that to come here, select some elements from the prototype and rearrange them, that's really interesting artistically. Bruno Dumont economic-models political interesting There is no god. I am an atheist. It is up to us to become God. We need to be elevated, to become saints. God alienates people from themselves. Bruno Dumont saint atheist people Good and evil are polar concepts - one can't exist without the other. Bruno Dumont good-and-evil concepts evil Sex becomes violent when you eliminate all the sentiments... voila, it gets crude. Bruno Dumont crude violent sex You can't go further than being naked. Bruno Dumont naked There's a longstanding myth about the United States that is still very prevalent in Europe [despite recent developments]. Historically the "America" of this myth is an incredible human adventure and an experiment in political democracy. But at the same time, or so we're told, it's the land of extremes where the worst can happen. Bruno Dumont land europe adventure My thinking was that today's spectator is so well-versed in film language that all theories about suspense, as argued by Dreyer and Hitchcock, on what makes you scared in cinema, can be ditched. It's the spectator, finally, who's going to construct the menace and the fear. Bruno Dumont suspense cinema thinking My life is existing. Cinema is certainly not my life Bruno Dumont cinema life-is To retain his dignity, an artist must live in opposition. He must be critical of his country. If not, then he is worthless. Bruno Dumont dignity artist country An actor is an instrument. One needs to control them. Bruno Dumont instruments actors needs Hollywood films are alienating to the spectator because they use too much dialogue, too much explication and leave no space for the viewer. They depress me. Bruno Dumont hollywood-films depressing space Matching character and actor is what a good director does. Bruno Dumont doe character directors Sound creates an intimate effect: the sensation to feel the place. It makes the viewer enter. You have the liberty to hear what you want. Bruno Dumont liberty sound want Hollywood films are alienating to the spectator because they use too much dialogue, too much explication and leave no space for the viewer. They depress me. I use direct sound, mono not stereo. Just direct sound, so for every shot there are only two sources. Sound creates an intimate effect: the sensation to feel the place. It makes the viewer enter. You have the liberty to hear what you want. Bruno Dumont hollywood-films depressing two The carnival is a real tradition in the North. What you have to do is look under these characters who are larger than life, cinema is a metaphor. So what is local becomes a metaphor. So I don't see a problem in making a very French film that at the same time, because it is very French, will become an international film. Bruno Dumont entertainment I had been wanting to stay within drama for a while but there I opened the floodgates and I realized that comedy is really close to drama, it's a substitute for drama. Comedy is like a scale that goes up and down. Bruno Dumont entertainment