willpower and determination

His films obsessively explore protagonists driven by singular, destructive determination—from ballet perfection in *Black Swan* to physical transformation in *The Wrestler*.

His samurai epics and dramas celebrate human willpower against impossible odds, most powerfully in *Ikiru* where a dying man finds purpose through sheer determination.

His documentaries and fiction films are defined by obsessive characters who pursue visionary goals through extraordinary willpower, exemplified in *Aguirre, the Wrath of God* and *Fitzcarraldo*.