Played to the hilt by an inspired cast, this may not be the most subtle comedy ever made, but it has an impudence and an energy that atones for its occasional resort to contrivance and cheap gags.
Unconscious (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:27
Fresh:23
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.1/10
Consensus: A comedy that tackles outrageous subjects (pornography, transvestism, bisexuality and drug abuse) with both grace and mischievous glee.
Rated: 15 [See Full Rating] for sexual content including dialogue, and some drug material.
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Dramas
Theatrical Release:15-09-2006
Synopsis: Joaquín Oristrell's UNCONSCIOUS is a a very funny romantic farce set in the supposedly austere psychiatric society of 1913 Barcelona. León Pardo (Alex Brendemühl) is a psychiatrist who suddenly... Joaquín Oristrell's UNCONSCIOUS is a a very funny romantic farce set in the supposedly austere psychiatric society of 1913 Barcelona. León Pardo (Alex Brendemühl) is a psychiatrist who suddenly disappears, telling his devoted pregnant wife, Alma (Leonor Watling), not to look for him. Worried for her husband's life, Alma enlists the help of her very serious brother-in-law, Salvador (Luis Tosar), another psychiatrist, to discover what is going on and to find León. Meanwhile, Alma's father, Dr. Mira (Juanjo Puigcorbé), one of the leading psychiatrists in Barcelona, is awaiting the arrival of Sigmund Freud, who is scheduled to speak at a special conference. Despite Salvador's protestations, Alma--whose sister, Olivia (Núria Prims), is married to Salvador--leads him on a dangerous adventure filled with sex, lies, violence, deception, and Marxist philosophy. Alma and Salvador make a fabulous team, part Nick and Nora Charles, part Sherlock Holmes and Watson; Watling, a veteran of several Pedro Almodóvar films, is particularly engaging in the lead role, and Tosar as Salvador--with his hysterical facial hair--is a hoot the whole way through. Mercedes Sampietro adds to the humor as the Pardos's villainous housekeeper. Oristrell balances the seriousness with the farfetched in this old-fashioned romp, cowritten with Teresa de Pelegrí and Dominic Harari, the couple who directed and penned the nonstop comedy ONLY HUMAN. The period piece is enhanced by frames that kick off each new chapter, as well as by the great soundtrack by Sergio Moure. [More]
Starring: Leonor Watling, Luis Tosar, Alex Brendemuhl, Mercedes Sampietro
Starring: Leonor Watling, Luis Tosar, Alex Brendemuhl, Mercedes Sampietro, Juanjo Puigcorbe, Marieta Orozco, Nuria Prims
Director: Joaquin Oristrell
Director: Joaquin Oristrell
Screenwriter: Joaquin Oristrell, Teresa de Pelegri, Dominic Harari
Producer: Gerardo Herrero, Marta Esteban, Mariela Besuiveski
Composer: Sergio Moure
Studio: Regent Releasing
Reviews for Unconscious
We should be thankful for the wit and style of Joaquín Oristrell’s film.
A well-observed, sideways portrait of the day, Unconscious is a little gem.
Oristrell stages funny, madcap scenes around bondage, cross-dressing and incest.
The film is sustained effortlessly by the charismatic Watling and Tosar, who are among Spain's most popular movie stars.
Laboring in the wide shadow of Almodóvar and lacking much in the way of visual distinction, Unconscious compensates with its cast’s full-tilt commitment to rip-snorting farce.
[Billy] Wilder would have loved this razor-timed, feather-light comedy set in sexually repressed 1913 Spain.
Oristrell is a modern day Woody Allen, although with a better sense of rhythm and naughty buffoonery. You'll laugh from corners of your subconscious you didn't know you had.
When it is good it is very, very good, and when it's not it's mediocre.
Everything you always wanted to know about sex, and then some. A bawdy, early Woody Allen-esque slapstick comedy!
Film is ultimately unsure of what it wants to say about modernity, psychoanalysis and all it liberates.
The comedy is too broad, lacking the subtlety that the film's high-brow intentions require.
The Freudian farce Unconscious is paced so breathlessly that it keeps you panting to keep up with each new plot twist.
Even with nothing more redeeming than a lot of good one-liners, Unconscious has a charm that your ego, superego and id can all enjoy.
Are the Spanish the only ones these days able to make movie comedies that are smart, sexy, wacky and graceful all at once?
The movie's message is clear: Freud's greatest contribution to society was not the idea that all little boys long to sleep with their mothers -- rather, it's the concept of the unconscious, a hidden place where our secret desires yearn to be free.
The film is so opulently and noisily aestheticized it gives the illusion of being smarter than it is, though it benefits from some endearing performances.
one of the most visually stunning and original movies to come along in a while.
Latest News for Unconscious
August 04, 2007:
Inconscientes (Unconscious) preview & trailer ![]()
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December 28, 2006:
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