I like the possibility of failure. I don’t want to be in a comfortable zone.
I don’t like the ironic tone that our pop culture, in the world, has taken. Everything is ‘ironic.’ Everything is ‘cool.’
It’s famous that comedians have a very dark personal state of mind. I think, in my case, it’s the same. The only way to get deep is to have a balance, or a counterbalance.
When you have a fresh point of view that comes from the right side of the heart, it’s just so valuable. You can take it or not take it, but just that perspective can give you a lot of strength or make you reflect on a lot of things.
Life and death are illusions. We are in a constant state of transformation.
‘Biutiful’ is not about death. It’s about life. It’s a hymn to life.
I think that the best things come from thought, without thinking. I think that’s the smartest use of the intelligence that we all have.
The visual architecture of ‘Biutiful’ is the most sophisticated of all the films I have directed.
I see only one requirement you have to have to be a director or any kind of artist: rhythm. Rhythm, for me, is everything. Without rhythm, there’s no music. Without rhythm, there’s no cinema. Without rhythm, there’s no architecture.
When you see things upside down, the ego can be extraordinarily funny; it’s absurd. But it’s tragic at the same time.
My kid will come home from seeing the latest ‘Transformers’ movie, and I’ll ask him, ‘How was it?’ ‘Amazing!’ ‘What was it about?’ ‘I don’t know, but it was amazing!’
Movies become art after editing. Instead of just reproducing reality, they juxtapose images of it. That implies expression; that’s art.
I have a notebook, and I know what decisions will be made in pre-production. Everything is pre-determined in the pre-production period. I visually design the whole thing, and I know when things will happen.
When I talk about sad things, I talk about sad things.
I think that people would like to, at all times, reject death and disease with technology.
My mom had very low expectations for me, and she really had a point. I was a big problem at seventeen. If I had a kid like me, I would have those same expectations.
The creative process is mysterious; a conversation, a ride in the car, or a melody can trigger something.
‘Amores Perros’ is three stories that interconnect in one moment, which is the car accident.
If I had been at an assembly line for films, I don’t know if I would be the best driver. I think I would have crashed the car.
I’ve learned to lose with a smile on my face. That’s what the Oscar teaches you.
When I was sixteen, I was an absolutely romantic guy. I fell in love every week. I mean, I was in love with everybody, but unfortunately, nobody was in love with me.
My father had a difficult relationship with success, maybe because he never obtained it. But he was very wise about it because he observed how you can become rotten fruit once you get power.