Which surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film?

The surrealist film directed by Luis Buñuel that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film is The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.

Released in 1972, the French-language film follows an affluent group whose attempts to dine together are repeatedly interrupted by bizarre events, dreams, military disturbances, and social absurdities. Its comic structure turns bourgeois etiquette into a surreal cycle of frustration.

Buñuel directed the film and co-wrote it with Jean-Claude Carrière. The Oscar was awarded at the 1973 ceremony, where the film represented France. Buñuel was famously uninterested in conventional honors and did not attend to accept the award; producer Serge Silberman accepted it on his behalf.

A common mix-up is confusing this win with Buñuel’s other celebrated films. Viridiana won the Palme d’Or, while Belle de Jour and Tristana were major Buñuel films but did not win this Academy category.