Bunuel_Luis_My_Last_Breath

ages until my return to Spain in 1961. In one of his articles, MorenoVilla wrote that at the start of the Civil War, an anarchist brigadediscovered a document bestowing a membership in the Order ofToledo during one of its house searches in Madrid. The unfortunateowner of this piece of paper barely escaped with his life; he had ahard time explaining that he wasn't a titled aristocrat.One day in 1963 I was interviewed on a hillside overlooking theTagus River and Toledo by Andre Labarthe and Jeanine Bazin for aFrench television program. Eventually, we got to the old chestnut,"How would you compare French and Spanish culture?""It's very simple," I replied. "We Spanish know everything aboutFrench culture. The French, on the other hand, know nothing aboutours. Look at Monsieur Carrikre here." I paused, nodding towardJean-Claude. "He was a history teacher, but until his arrival yesrerday,he was convinced that Toledo was the name of a motorcycle!"One day in Madrid, Lorca invited me to lunch with the composerManuel de Falla, who'd just arrived from Granada. He and Federicobegan to talk about their mutual friends, in particular an Andalusianpainter named Morcillo. It seems that Falla had recently gone to seeMorcillo in his studio, where he examined all the paintings Morcilloconsented to show him. He praised each painting to the skies, butthen, noticing several canvases propped up against the wall, askedif he might see those as well. Morcillo refused, claiming that hedidn't like them. When Falla insisted, Morcillo finally relented andreluctantly turned one of the paintings around."You see," he said to Falla, "it's a disaster!"Falla protested. He found the painting very interesting."No, no," Morcillo continued. "The general idea is all right, andsome of the derail isn't bad, but the background is completely wrong.""The background?" Falla echoed, peering at it."Yes, the background . . . the sky, the clouds. The clouds areterrible, don't you think?""Well, perhaps," Falla hesitated. "You may be right. The cloudsare perhaps not as successful as the rest.''