All of history, that of Christ or any other, permeates the world, leaves its mark, modifying and informing history, and all that the human reproduces and creates. The best way for historical interpretation or literary adaptation is to move as far as possible from literal interpretation. That is, it is a contemporary and personal interpretation. The story of Christ is an archetypal story. It has modified and informed a morality and a vision of the human being in the West, it must be taken for what it is and what it has become: matter.

A sexagenarian transvestite in his room, confronted with his fantasies and his solitude.

One of my last films to be made indoors was La vie brève de la flamme. I used light in a very expressionist manner — still with the technique of a very active camera. (T.H.)