Inconscientes (2004)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Joaquín Oristrell

Writers:

Dominic Harari (writer)
Joaquín Oristrell (writer)

Release Date:

27 August 2004 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

Uncover Hidden Desires.

Plot:

A Freudian comedy set in Barcelona, 1913, that playfully questions sexual taboos through a Sherlock Holmes-style investigation.,

Plot Keywords:

Sigmund Freud | Transvestite | Cocaine | 1910s | Gay Interest

Awards:

4 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Leonor Watling	...	Alma
Luis Tosar	...	Salvador
Àlex Brendemühl	...	Dr. León Pardo
Mercedes Sampietro	...	Sra. Mingarro
Núria Prims	...	Olivia
Ana Rayo	...	Tórtola
Juanjo Puigcorbé	...	Dr. Mira, Alma's father
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
José Adell		(as Joe Adell)
Anna Maria E. Albors
Pepa Arenós
Toni Arteaga
Susana Bas		(as Susana Bass)
Dolo Beltrán
Miquel Bordoy
Santiago Castro Fuiza
Itziar Castro	...	Ama de cría
Albert Dueso
María Esteve
Mia Esteve
Xus Estruch
Pep Farrés
David Fernández
Jordi Ferran
Carles Fígols
Pere Eugeni Font
Ton Gras
Pep Jové
Horst Krause
Walter Kreye
Gorka Lasaosa
Toni Martínez
Pep Molina
Marieta Orozco	...	Violeta
Joan Raja
Ferran Rañé
Rosa Maria Sardà	...	(voice)
Marcelo Gabriel Schwartz
Cristina Solano
Oriol Tramvia
Mònica Van Campen
Usun Yoon

Also Known As:

Unconscious (Canada: English title) (festival title) (International: English title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content including dialogue, and some drug material.

Runtime:

100 min | Argentina:100 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

Spain | Germany | Italy | Portugal

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | UK:15 | Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Spain:18 | Brazil:14

Company:

Tornasol Films

A Classy Little Art Nouveau Look at Turn of the Century Behavior

UNCONSCIOUS (Inconscientes) is a stylish little Spanish film form the minds of writers Dominic Harari and Joaquín Oristrell, a tongue in cheek look at the influence of Sigmund Freud on social behavior at the fin de siecle in Spain. Not only is the story highly entertaining as a comedy, the production values and creative direction by Joaquín Oristrell make this a must-see for lovers of European art films.

The story is a bit convoluted, but then the title suggests that in the first place! If there is a line of continuity it is the effect of Freud as the one who peeped into the privacy of our lives and the strange findings he discovered. Very pregnant Alma (the always beguiling Leonor Watling) is missing her psychiatrist husband and engages the aid of her brother-in-law Salvador (Luis Tosar) to find him. Alma's sister Olivia (Núria Prims) suspects a tryst between Alma and Salvador, adding a bit more mystery to the story. The discoveries made about each of the highly assorted groups of players in the drama are made in the oddest of places - a men's steam room/gym, a transvestite ball (in which many of the characters' form the outside world are found to have very special needs!), and in places throughout the picturesque Barcelona. There is no particular resolution to this quasi-plot: the joy is in the telling of the story, and that is a total pleasure to watch.

The very large cast is uniformly exceptional and the creative aspects of the shifting of the various components of this storybook tale are as fine as have been seen in recent cinema. This is comedy border but not becoming slapstick and it is served up delectably! In Spanish and German with English subtitles. Grady Harp, November 07