"Whether it's in Carne (a misunderstanding that turns into a stabbing), in  Irreversible (the anonymous rape on a street corner), or the car accident in Enter the Void, the recurring theme is that you can lose everything in a second. The fear of losing one's parents is every child's ultimate fear, and indeed, it's a dramatic element that anyone should be able to relate to. I once met a girl who, along with her little sister, had witnessed their mother's death in very similar circumstances. As for me, I had a taxi accident when I was very young, which, although minor in comparison, remained etched in my memory. But the real dramatic element in this film is the blood pact between the two children, with this impossible-to-keep promise to protect each other, even beyond death."

"My biggest obsession when I started preparing the film wasn't who would be in it, but who my grip would be. The most complicated thing was finding someone skilled enough to devise crane mounting systems so the camera could constantly fly through walls. It seemed like an impossible technical challenge. We tried having prototypes built. Eventually, we thought we'd shoot on location, but we had to rebuild a lot in the studio because it was impossible otherwise. As a result, we had enormous cranes in the studios, and their movements were sometimes limited. I had nightmares where the crane was stuck, and every night I dreamt about camera positions and shot sequences... Luckily, we found a Japanese grip who was as brilliant as he was lovely. It's even a miracle that the film is so technically accomplished, because every sequence presented a new technical problem." GN