The driving idea behind surrealism though, as Bunuel explains it, is the idea of revolution and the surrealist act (ie creating a scandal or social shock). Like many of the Surrealists, he grew up in a wealthy family and had the benefit of a good education, in his case initially with the Jesuits (like James Joyce). He then goes into his childhood in Calanda, which was essentially a feudal community that had changed little from medieval times, with a very strict Catholic worldview. This is perhaps quite the case, as he wrote this book in the last year of his life before he died in 1982. Almost as a disclaimer, the biography begins with some musings on the vagaries of memory, and he makes the point that even if we remember something falsely, it is not the less a part of ourselves. Bunuel is amusing throughout, and this is a trove of anecdotes and interesting events, conversations in cafes, scandal, and inspiration.Bunuel was born in 1900, in a small town called Calanda in the Aragon region. However, there is also a wealth of social and political history, as Spain and Europe underewent much upheaval during these years. For those with an interest in Surrealism, this biography has much to offer in terms of the history of the group, their friendships and fallings-out, as well as Bunuel's own musings on Surrealism. Though not one of the founding members of the Surrealist movement, he was welcomed into the circle and became a close friend of many of them, as well as becoming the foremost maker of Surrealist films. I watched several of his films a few years ago, and once seen they are not easily forgotten. This is the autobiography of Luis Bunuel, the surrealist film director. Filled with film trivia, framed by Buñuel’s intellect and wit, this is essential reading for fans of cinema and for anyone who has ever wanted to see the world through a surrealist’s eyes. His personal narratives also encompass the pressing political issues of his time, many of which still haunt us today-the specter of fascism, the culture wars, the nuclear bomb.

In swift and generous prose, Buñuel traces the surprising contours of his life, from the Good Friday drumbeats of his childhood to the dreams that inspired his most famous films to his turbulent friendships with Federico García Lorca and Salvador Dalí. Now, in a memoir that carries all the surrealism and subversion of his cinema, Buñuel turns his artistic gaze inward.

Luis Buñuel’s films have the power to shock, inspire, and reinvent our world. A provocative memoir from Luis Buñuel, the Academy Award winning creator of some of modern cinema's most important films, from Un Chien Andalou to The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

Bunuel autobiography