“Narrative has been a big poison of cinema. The narrative is not a good thing just to be attached to. It doesn’t free us to explore more images, metaphors, poetry. When you’re dealing with different subject matters that you want to address, it’s better to expand the possibilities. I have been fascinated always that the character is defined not only because of what he does but [how] the others around him affect him. We are defined by the others. In Latin American literature this kind of structure is a natural way to tell a story, so I’ve been influenced by that.” — Babel‘s Alejandro Gonzalez Innaritu speaking to AP’s Ryan Pearson.