26 Quotes by Jiang Wen

Many filmmakers have had that experience. They make a movie, then out of nowhere, they either pass censorship or fail.

I'm interested in history.

Whether it's Shakespeare or Moliere, irony is a key component in the construction of theatre. A script would be pretty bad if it was devoid of irony.

Painters who do self-portraits are engaging in a form of narcissism. But it doesn't work like that in movies. A truly narcissistic person wouldn't go into filmmaking because it's just too tiring.

Stories that can be told through language and words don't need to be filmed.

I think that as a director, especially when it comes to writing the script, which I also do, and I'm also the first one to visualize this story, I think contributing to the film industry means I'm able to take the best of a story and translate it well into a movie that can be released in theaters.

I think that as a Chinese person, nobody will forget that in China's history, there was a war against the Japanese.

It's not easy for a film to tell a story of the experiences of an entire society. However, from an individual's perspective, it is possible to tell one aspect of an entire society's story.

I've also shot plenty of films with very small audiences - 'The Sun Also Rises.' I love that film, but I didn't capture the imagination of the audience. I don't know why.