I’d like to be for cinema what Shakespeare was for theatre, Marx for politics and Freud for psychology: someone after whom nothing is as it used to be.

I’d like to be for cinema what Shakespeare was for theatre, Marx for politics and Freud for psychology: someone after whom nothing is as it used to be.

The best thing I can think of would be to create a union between something as beautiful and powerful and wonderful as Hollywood films and a criticism of the status quo. That’s my dream, to make such a German film.

And I don’t believe that melodramatic feelings are laughable – they should be taken absolutely seriously.

The Jews have never been ashamed of being Jews, whereas homosexuals have been stupid enough to be ashamed of their homosexuality.

The more real things get, the more like myths they become.

Yes, actually ever since I saw his films and tried to write about them, Sirk’s been in everything I’ve done. Not Sirk himself, but what I’ve learned from his work.

So certainly, if we can tell evil stories to make people sick, we can also tell good myths that make them well.

It isn’t easy to accept that suffering can also be beautiful… it’s difficult. It’s something you can only understand if you dig deeply into yourself.