--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I think working as an assistant was a…" description: "\"I think working as an assistant was a part of knowing people who like cinema, and to learn from a movie, you have to watch it.\" — Claire Denis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/claire-denis-8648_cinema_i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-pa_1921564.jpg" --- # I think working as an assistant was a part of knowing… ![“I think working as an assistant was a part of knowing people who like cinema, and to learn from a movie, you have to watch it.” quote by Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/claire-denis-8648_cinema_i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-pa_1921564.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/claire-denis-8648_cinema_i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-pa_1921564.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/claire-denis-8648_cinema_i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-pa_1921564.jpg) > “I think working as an assistant was a part of knowing people who like cinema, and to learn from a movie, you have to watch it.” [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Learning from cinema requires active viewing; assisting others offers insight into diverse tastes. **In simple terms:** Watch movies actively to learn. Key Takeaway Engage deeply with films. Themes learning cinema mentorship Mood thoughtful curious Type educational inspirational When to use this quote - film class - movie club - career in film criticism - personal enrichment Key Concepts active observation cultural exchange Questions to Reflect On - What film taught you something unexpected? - How can you share that insight? A Different Perspective Passive watching yields less insight. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cinema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) [Film](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/film/) [Knowing people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowing-people/) [Movie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/movie/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [I want to write, direct, produce, but in steps. I want to take steps. I don't want to just jump in because I sold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-want-to-write-direct-produce-but-in-steps-i-want-to-take-steps-i/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Every movie, especially when you get involved... takes something out of you. You learn something, but you give something to the movie. And after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-cassel/every-movie-especially-when-you-get-involved-takes-something-out-of/) [Vincent Cassel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-cassel/) > [The best way to learn anything is through a movie, because you have so much time to do it and you have great people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-liotta/the-best-way-to-learn-anything-is-through-a-movie-because-you-have-so/) [Ray Liotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-liotta/) > [I learn from every movie I do because on every movie I have a different experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brett-ratner/i-learn-from-every-movie-i-do-because-on-every-movie-i-have-a/) [Brett Ratner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brett-ratner/) > [With 'Hail, Caesar!' it was about all the skill sets I had to learn, but each movie requires a different way of working. You're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alden-ehrenreich/with-hail-caesar-it-was-about-all-the-skill-sets-i-had-to-learn-but/) [Alden Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alden-ehrenreich/) > [Theatre is like an actor's nectar, like how cinema is a director's medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-fazal/theatre-is-like-an-actor-s-nectar-like-how-cinema-is-a-director-s/) [Ali Fazal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-fazal/) > [I like cinema. I am very fond of it. But from time to time I feel like having some time on my own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrice-leconte/i-like-cinema-i-am-very-fond-of-it-but-from-time-to-time-i-feel-like/) [Patrice Leconte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrice-leconte/) > [I like it when I go into a cinema and I'm not aware that I'm there; I'm totally involved in the film for two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atticus-ross/i-like-it-when-i-go-into-a-cinema-and-i-m-not-aware-that-i-m-there-i/) [Atticus Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atticus-ross/) > [I came from a very avant-garde documentary kind of film making world. I like cinema verité, documentaries. I liked non-story, non-character tone poems. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-lucas/i-came-from-a-very-avant-garde-documentary-kind-of-film-making-world/) [George Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-lucas/) > [When I write, I keep the family audience in mind. I ensure there's no vulgarity, as families are coming into the theatres, and there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rohit-shetty/when-i-write-i-keep-the-family-audience-in-mind-i-ensure-there-s-no/) [Rohit Shetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rohit-shetty/) > [Architecture exists, like cinema, in the dimension of time and movement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-nouvel/architecture-exists-like-cinema-in-the-dimension-of-time-and-movement/) [Jean Nouvel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-nouvel/) > [I'd like to be for cinema what Shakespeare was for theatre, Marx for politics and Freud for psychology: someone after whom nothing is as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rainer-werner-fassbinder/i-d-like-to-be-for-cinema-what-shakespeare-was-for-theatre-marx-for/) [Rainer Werner Fassbinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rainer-werner-fassbinder/) > [I like my cinema gritty, I like my eggs gritty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-letterman/i-like-my-cinema-gritty-i-like-my-eggs-gritty/) [David Letterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-letterman/) > [The great thing about cinema is that it's a great binder. It brings people from across the world together, often erasing the lines between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyanka-chopra/the-great-thing-about-cinema-is-that-it-s-a-great-binder-it-brings/) [Priyanka Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyanka-chopra/) > [I like the cinema of people like Terry Gilliam and Tim Burton. I am not keen on trying to reproduce reality - for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-pierre-jeunet/i-like-the-cinema-of-people-like-terry-gilliam-and-tim-burton-i-am/) [Jean-Pierre Jeunet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-pierre-jeunet/) ## More by Claire Denis > [I long to make films. I'm dying to be inside the next film. I always hope there will be another film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-long-to-make-films-i-m-dying-to-be-inside-the-next-film-i-always/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I don't remember being afraid of anything in making films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-don-t-remember-being-afraid-of-anything-in-making-films/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I am not at all interested in theories about cinema. I am only interested in images and people and sound. I am really a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-am-not-at-all-interested-in-theories-about-cinema-i-am-only/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [A father who sees his daughter leave in the arms of another man does not feel the same as a mother. It is heartrending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/a-father-who-sees-his-daughter-leave-in-the-arms-of-another-man-does/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I don't know - music in film, for me, is not another part of a soundtrack; it is something that also helps to approach…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-don-t-know-music-in-film-for-me-is-not-another-part-of-a-soundtrack/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [It's not that I don't like words. There's sometimes no need for words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/it-s-not-that-i-don-t-like-words-there-s-sometimes-no-need-for-words/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I'm not witty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-m-not-witty/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I have no relationship to the French bourgeoisie. I don't like connecting with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-have-no-relationship-to-the-french-bourgeoisie-i-don-t-like/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I have very strong relationships with my actors when I'm shooting. When you love an actor's work, you always feel you have to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-have-very-strong-relationships-with-my-actors-when-i-m-shooting/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I always scout locations first. The apartments, the railway tracks, the café, the canal - I figure out the geography of the film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-always-scout-locations-first-the-apartments-the-railway-tracks-the/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [For some reason, I have always been interested in the stories of people who are exiled and who are deprived of rights. My main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/for-some-reason-i-have-always-been-interested-in-the-stories-of/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [When I was a child I had a nightmare, and in the morning, I asked my mother and father, 'If I kill someone, would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/when-i-was-a-child-i-had-a-nightmare-and-in-the-morning-i-asked-my/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [I hate the idea of growing accustomed to someone and being faithful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-hate-the-idea-of-growing-accustomed-to-someone-and-being-faithful/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [Inside the family, you can go from hate to passivity to extreme love within the same hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/inside-the-family-you-can-go-from-hate-to-passivity-to-extreme-love/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) > [You can spend your whole life in France without ever thinking about the Legion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/you-can-spend-your-whole-life-in-france-without-ever-thinking-about/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) [Explore all 79 Claire Denis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) ## More Cinema quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [You have to have a great director to make a great movie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thelma-schoonmaker/you-have-to-have-a-great-director-to-make-a-great-movie/) [Thelma Schoonmaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thelma-schoonmaker/) > [I'm trying to write a film with my friend. I'd love to get the thrill of speaking actors making my work even funnier.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-howard/i-m-trying-to-write-a-film-with-my-friend-i-d-love-to-get-the-thrill/) [Russell Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-howard/) > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [There was a time in the 1980s when I worked in 22 films a year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/radha-ravi/there-was-a-time-in-the-1980s-when-i-worked-in-22-films-a-year/) [Radha Ravi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/radha-ravi/) > [To an ever greater extent out experience is governed by pictures, pictures in newspapers and magazines, on television and in the cinema. Next to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-crimp/to-an-ever-greater-extent-out-experience-is-governed-by-pictures/) [Douglas Crimp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-crimp/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I love film people and actors and I am in the right world because I am one of those people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ewan-mcgregor/i-love-film-people-and-actors-and-i-am-in-the-right-world-because-i/) [Ewan McGregor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ewan-mcgregor/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [I'd love to work in the States; I'd love to work anywhere where you get a good script and a good part to play.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-carmichael/i-d-love-to-work-in-the-states-i-d-love-to-work-anywhere-where-you/) [Laura Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-carmichael/) > [I even see the cinema itself as a woman, with its alternation of light and darkness, of appearing and disappearing images](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/federico-fellini/i-even-see-the-cinema-itself-as-a-woman-with-its-alternation-of-light/) [Federico Fellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/federico-fellini/) > ['Rear Window' isn't really a horror film, but it is a psychological drama, which I love. It is very tense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-silvers/rear-window-isn-t-really-a-horror-film-but-it-is-a-psychological/) [Diana Silvers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-silvers/) > [What a thrill. You know you've entered new territory when you realise that your outfit cost more than your film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-yu/what-a-thrill-you-know-you-ve-entered-new-territory-when-you-realise/) Jessica Yu > [I am not interested in churning out a certain number of films every year. For me, it's about the quality of work. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepika-padukone/i-am-not-interested-in-churning-out-a-certain-number-of-films-every/) [Deepika Padukone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepika-padukone/) [Browse all 23,940 Cinema quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cinema/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think working as an assistant was a part of knowing people who like cinema, and to learn from a movie, you have to watch it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Claire Denis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-part-of-knowing-people-who-like/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cinema" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-part-of-knowing-people-who-like/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/claire-denis-8648_cinema_i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-pa_1921564.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/claire-denis-8648_cinema_i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-pa_1921564.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/476/claire-denis-8648_cinema_i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-pa_1921564.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think working as an assistant was a part of knowing people who like cinema, and to learn from a movie, you…” — Claire Denis", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Claire Denis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I think working as an assistant...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-part-of-knowing-people-who-like/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/i-think-working-as-an-assistant-was-a-part-of-knowing-people-who-like/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```