“That’s what being a parent is like. It’s like Platoon.”

“A Gurkha subaltern whom I met later told me that commanding a platoon of them was like leading a group of perfectly-disciplined ten-year-olds, and I believed him.”

“My friends are appeased to stay in Odessa for their entire lives. They are appeased to age like their parents, and become parents like their parents. They do not desire anything more than everything they have known.”

“I think that not being loved by your parents or not having a brother or not being liked at school or even wearing glasses can be a lot worse than having a famous father.”

“There is no friendship, no love, like that of the parent for the child.”

“We don't yet know, above all, what the world might be like if children were to grow up without being subjected to humiliation, if parents would respect them and take them seriously as people.”

“The interesting part about making these films is that it’s half directing, and half really being a leader, because you have such little time to shoot such a big concept. It’s really like a war against time, and your crew is your platoon. You’re going as hard and as fast as you can to try to get everything on screen.”

“What it's like to be a parent: It's one of the hardest things you'll ever do but in exchange it teaches you the meaning of unconditional love.”

“I was been raised to believe I was an artist. I believed what my parents said and fulfilled it, like a prophecy.”

“…to hell with being ashamed of what you liked.”