Actually, I met a lot of directors and most of them have that fantasy to make a silent movie because for directors it's the purest way to tell a story. It's about creating images that tell a story and you don't need dialogue for that.
In France, it's really different the way you live. It's a non-religious country. The public space is not religious; religion is a private thing.
Silence is a universal language. It's like music or painting.
Robert DeNiro, who may be the greatest living actor, usually acts in a way which is very stone-faced, like Steve McQueen.
I watched a lot of silent movies. It's a very specific way of writing, which is more of a challenge than the directing. You have to describe images. It's easier to shoot them.
When you speak of silent movies, everyone thinks of Charlie Chaplin first.
