“For me, cinema is a kind of drug, an obsession. I also like the fact that it is a pleasure to be alone, ”Carlos Saura once said.

The Spanish filmmaker, who died yesterday at the age of 91, was an unconventional and introverted individual, at least by the standards of an art that is as social in nature as he has served throughout his life. His own contact with the rest of the world and public consciousness came through his films, which, after the fall of the Franco regime in 1975, helped the new Spanish cinema flourish.

A close friend and admirer of Luis Buñuel, Saura incorporated criticism of the bourgeoisie as well as existential quests, dreams and intense symbolism into his themes, leading many to compare him to Ingmar Bergman. However, he was a Spaniard through and through.

Raising the Ravens, set in the twilight of a dictatorship, is one of his most important films, along with the so-called flamenco trilogy (Carmen, Marriage of Blood, Love Enchanted) which features special works like performances translated into cinematic language with minimal intervention. Saura was to be recognized by the Spanish Film Academy for his lifetime achievement at today’s Goya Awards.