Alain Guiraudie

“[Translated] This one: Happiness. I love this film. I think it's a masterpiece. It's one of my favorites. What I like about Todd Solondz— I've heard people say he doesn't like his characters, and I think there's real cruelty, but there's also something beautiful in the way he views all of our perversions, and all the twisted parts of human nature.”

“[Translated] Here's WALL·E. I haven't seen WALL·E, but I really want to, because I love Pixar in general. A friend of mine recommended it to me, she said it was very funny and very moving. I want to see this little science-fiction robot, and how moving he can be.”

“[Translated] Then there's my favorite movie. This one here. I think it remains my favorite of all time. Mulholland Drive. What I really love about it, and David Lynch in general, is the way the American Dream turns into a nightmare. I love that.”

“[Translated] I haven't picked anything French. Here's Pickpocket. For the gestures in it. I remember this film for these shots that were very... Well, I was going to "choreographed," but it's that cinematic choreography, like the moments when they steal the wallets on the train. It feels very much like choreography. Yes, it's an essential French film.”

“[Translated] Yes. Buñuel. The Exterminating Angel. I think it was thanks to Buñuel that I started to love a different kind of cinema, than what I'd seen before. I discovered this in high school, when I was 16 or 17. I was used to seeing movies on television. This was the first movie I saw at the film club, where I discovered a whole new world of cinema, between realism and surrealism.”

“[Translated] The War Trilogy by Roberto Rossellini. I have very positive memories of these. All three of them, but especially Paisan. I re-watch that one regularly. I already have a DVD at home, actually. I think it's one of the most beautiful films I've seen, It has that... Is it poetic realism? No, there's a great deal of realism. Some of it is like a fairy-tale, but always grounded in reality, which I've always liked about Rossellini.”