As A Private Person, Professionally I Am

The Film [the White Ribbon] Does Try To Use German Fascism As An Example, But Not Specifically Fascism... The Results Of German Fascism. It Shows How People Are Prepared Or Indoctrinated For An Ideology... People Who Are Already In A State Of Repression Who Have Been Humiliated By Society And Who Clasp At A Straw That's Offered To Them. And How That's Then Developed Into A Form Of Indoctrination.

To Be Perfectly Honest, I Think That As I'm Growing Older, I'm Just Growing More Impatient. I'll Be Very Happy If At Some Point People Say, 'michael's Grown Wiser And Softer In His Old Age.' But We'll Have To Wait And See What My Next Project Is.

Drama Lives On Conflict. If You're Trying To Deal With Social Issues Seriously, There's No Way Of Avoiding Violence, Which Is So Present In Society.

That Is One Of The Characteristics Of Fascism, The Idea That The State Can Provide All Of The Answers For Everyone.

It's Difficult Because You Can't Generalise About These Things. But In Essence, You Deal With Children As Simply As You Deal With Actors - You Have To Show A Certain Sort Of Respect. You Deal With Them Lovingly And Protect Them, But If You Protect Them Enough Then They're Open To Engage With What You Want To Do With Them.