John Leguizamo

“Oh, The Piano Teacher, Michael Haneke... This film is so incredible because it’s so daring. I mean, talk about dysfunction. I love dysfunction because I came from a dysfunctional family... She’s so twisted and sick, and Isabelle Huppert is fearless. And sick, but in a good way, because they’re not sick for gore’s sake... It’s more to tell you that we all carry some sickness in ourselves and we don’t know how it’s ever going to manifest itself. And the film is so dangerous that way.”

“Oh, Roma! Roma, Alfonso Cuarón. This film was so powerful. Those shots that… The 360 in that room was insane. I don’t even know how he did that. And coming out of the water where she saves The Kid, which was such a powerful scene because the camera starts in the water and then it comes out and follows her into the… Insane. The shots are so phenomenal. And he puts politics in it, and… It’s so full of Alfonso Cuarón.”

“A Man Escaped. J’aime beaucoup ce film. J’aime beaucoup cette cinéaste, Robert Bresson... Robert Bresson is one of the great filmmakers... But this film is exceptional because it all takes place in one room, and you can’t believe that he can create such drama, such tension. If you’re an indie filmmaker, you gotta study this. And it’s such a powerful political piece. One of the brilliant filmmakers of all time, one of my favorites as well.”

“Do the Right Thing. Do the Right Thing and see this movie. That is the right thing to do. When this film came out, Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, it was such a powerful moment. To have Rosie Perez, a Latina, opening up the film, it was huge. And it was political and it was angry, and it was owning the anger that we people of color have... I love Spike Lee as a man. I love him as a filmmaker. I love his politics. I love what he did for all of us people of color.”

“El Norte, this is such a beautiful gift. You know, immigration, seeking a better life, sort of the erasure of Indigenous culture... When this film came out, it was… it was mind-blowing to see how beautiful an Indigenous face, how cinematic, how photogenic it could be. That just reversed all the self-hate that I had. It was like an antidote. I want to see more from Gregory Nava.”

“Oh, Gold Rush! Charles Chaplin. Oh, man. I mean, I started out as a comedian, doing comedy, and watching Gold Rush was so powerful... I guess that’s where I got my love for Charlie Chaplin. I love this movie. This movie makes me laugh out loud. I showed it to my kids and it didn’t… it didn’t have the same effect. I don’t know why. Maybe I showed them too many films. I also made them watch the silent four-hour Abel Gance Napoléon when they were four or five.”