That Subject Matter Has Never

[action's] A Western Thing. We Think Of The Hero Going Into Battle, Rebelling Against A Government Or An Oppressor, But [in Kundun] Action Is Nonaction Or What Appears To Be Nonaction. That's A Hard Concept For Western Audiences. . . . We Wanted To Show A Kind Of Moral Action, A Spiritual Action, An Emotional Action. Some People Will Pick Up On It; Some Won't.

There Was Always A Part Of Me That Wanted To Be An Old-time Director. But I Couldn't Do That. I'm Not A Pro.

For Me, The Key Image Is The Boat Coming Through The Fog At The Beginning. It's Something I Imagined And Liked And I Guess There Are Other References In Other Films I Make - The Similar Type Of Image. But I Think It's Interesting, It's Breaking Through The Mystery, Or Maybe It Stays In The Fog... We Don't Really Know. Where Is He At The Beginning Of The Film, Who Is He?

There Are Two Kinds Of Power You Have To Fight. The First Is The Money, And That's Just Our System. The Other Is The People Close Around You, Knowing When To Accept Their Criticism, Knowing When To Say No.

I Love The Look Of Planes And The Idea Of How A Plane Flies. The More I Learn About It The Better I Feel; While I Still May Not Like It, I Have A Sense Of What Is Really Happening.