The intercourse between the Mediterranean and the North or between the Atlantic and Central Europe was never purely economic or political; it also meant the exchange of knowledge and ideas and the influence of social institutions and artistic and literary forms.
I know we will look back on this and think how odd it was we were championing the rights of lone mothers to bring up their children on benefit.
I'm something of a history buff. It's deliberate that a lot of my films have been period pieces.