Inconscientes
Unconscious | |
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Theatrical release poster | |
Spanish | Inconscientes |
Directed by | Joaquín Oristrell |
Written by |
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Produced by | Gerardo Herrero |
Starring |
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Cinematography | Jaume Peracaula |
Edited by | Miguel Ángel Santamaría |
Music by | Sergio Moure |
Production companies |
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Distributed by | Alta Classics |
Release date |
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Running time | 108 minutes |
Countries |
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Language | Spanish |
Unconscious (Spanish: Inconscientes) is a 2004 period comedy film directed by Joaquín Oristrell starring Leonor Watling and Luis Tosar, also featuring Mercedes Sampietro, Juanjo Puigcorbé, Núria Prims and Alex Brendemühl in supporting roles.
Set in 1913 Barcelona and displaying the popularization of the theories of psychoanalysis as a backdrop,[1] the plot follows the pregnant wife of a renowned Freudian psychiatrist who enlists the help of her admiring brother-in-law to uncover the elaborate mystery of why her husband ran away from home. The more she digs for the truth about her husband, the more she discovers the unexpected lies surrounding her brother-in-law, her father, her sister, and herself.
It is an international co-production by companies from Spain, Italy, Germany and Portugal.
Plot
In 1913 Barcelona, Alma, who is nine-months pregnant, returns home one day to find her husband, Leon, an eminent psychiatrist, about to flee their home and his practice. He has come back from a session with Dr. Freud in Vienna that has left him distraught. Left to have her baby alone, the witty and beautiful Alma enlists the help of her sister's husband – also a psychiatrist - the dispassionate, repressed Salvador, to help her solve the mystery of Leon's sudden departure. Ignoring his better judgment, Salvador agrees to help her, even though he sees it could be trouble for him with his prim, frigid wife, Olivia, Alma's sister.
The sibling rivalry between Alma and Olivia is shared by their husbands. Olivia is jealous of her feminist sister as the favorite of their father, Dr. Mira, the pompous chief of staff in the hospital where both Leon and Salvador have their practice. Helping her father, Alma serves as translator in a lecture by Dr. Alois Alzheimer – who is unable to remember anything.
The beautiful Alma is as free-spirited as Salvador is uptight. Helping her, Salvador quickly runs into trouble. After an accidental self-hypnosis, he confesses that he is deeply in love with Alma, and that he married her sister, the ostensibly sexually inhibited Olivia, only to be near her. Still under hypnosis, traumatized by comments made by his wife regarding the size of his member, he exposes himself in a public place` and his father-in-law fires him from his job.
A trail of clues initially indicates that Leon's disappearance may be connected to the concealment of embarrassing revelations about the sex life of the King of Spain, Alfonso XIII. Hints also lead them to the backroom of a barn that serves as a hideout for making pornographic films. They also visit a deranged woman in a madhouse, a cross-dressing club and a high-class bordello, led all the while by clues contained in Leon's thesis: a detailed journal of his psychoanalytic sessions with four women he is treating for “hysteria”: a psychotic woman who tried to murder her husband; an actress with a persecution complex; a woman with a serious crisis concerning her sexual identity; and a stranger who has discovered a terrible secret about her past.
Salvador and Alma's investigation reveals a series of outrageous secrets. These include that Olivia has been living a secret life, going to a transvestite club. She has a lesbian lover and plans to leave her husband. Alma's alcoholic housekeeper, the unsympathetic Senora Mingarro, turns out to be Leon's biological mother, the result of a torrid affair with Dr. Mira, which makes Alma and Leon's marriage an incestuous union. The sudden reappearance of Leon only complicates things further.
Eventually they all attend a distinguished gathering in honor of Dr. Freud, who has come to Barcelona to discourse on his new book, Totem and Taboo. Since Leon attributes all his problems to Dr. Freud's theories on sexuality, Leon plans to kill Freud. However, the fall of a big chandelier aborts the assassination attempt. Leon and Dr. Mira die as a result of the accident with the chandelier. Olivia leaves for Paris where she wants to have a freer life with her lesbian lover. Alma gives birth to a baby boy. Alma realizes that she has fallen in love with Salvador and they become a happy couple, sailing off together for a new life in South America.
Cast
- Leonor Watling as Alma[2]
- Luis Tosar as Salvador[2]
- Juanjo Puigcorbé as Doctor Mira[2]
- Núria Prims as Olivia[2]
- Mercedes Sampietro as Señora Mingarro[2]
- Alex Brendemühl as Doctor León Pardo[2]
- Ana Rayo as Tórtola[2]
- Marieta Orozco [es] as Violeta[2]
Production
A joint Spanish/Italian/German/Portuguese co-production,[3] the film was produced by Tornasol Films and Messidor Films in co-production with EMC Asset Management, Madragoa Produção de Filmes [pt] and Classic, with the participation of TVE, Canal+, Eurimages, Televisió de Catalunya, ICEC and ICAA.[4] Gerardo Herrero is credited as producer whereas Mariela Besuievski and Marta Esteban are credited as executive producers.[4] The screenplay was penned by Oristrell alongside Teresa de Pelegrí [ca] and Dominic Harari [ca].[5][1]
Release
Distributed by Alta Classics,[4] the film was theatrically released in Spain on 27 August 2004.[5]
The film was released on DVD in the United States under the title Unconscious.
Reception
On Rotten Tomatoes, “Inconscientes” (“Unconscious”) has a Popcornmeter rating of 94%, based on over 50 ratings as of August 31, 2024.[6]
The IMDb web site, lists "Inconscientes" as a having 5 wins and 14 nominations.[7]
Accolades
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2005 | 19th Goya Awards | Best Original Screenplay | Joaquín Oristrell, Teresa de Pelegrín, Dominic Harari | Nominated | [8] |
Best Supporting Actress | Mercedes Sampietro | Nominated | |||
Best Original Score | Sergio Moure | Nominated | |||
Best Costume Design | Sabine Daigeler | Nominated | |||
Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Karmele Soler, Paco Rodríguez | Nominated |
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2005 | Sundance Film Festival | Nominee for Grand Jury Prize - World Cinema Dramatic | Joaquín Oristrell | Nominated | [9] |
Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
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2005 | Monte Carlo Comedy Film Festival | Nominee for Jury Prize - Best Film | Joaquín Oristrell | Nominated | [10] |
See also
References
- Citations
- ^ a b Monjas, C.H.L. (19 August 2004). "Luís Tosar protagoniza una comedia de Joaquín Oristrell, «Inconscientes»". La Voz de Galicia.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Pérez Morán & Pérez Millán 2008, p. 299.
- ^ "Inconscientes". Barcelona Film Commission | Catalunya Film Commission. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ a b c "Ficha técnica" (PDF). Renoir Cines. p. 1132. Retrieved 4 February 2022 – via Centre de Documentació i Museu de les Arts Escèniques.
- ^ a b Pando, Juan (31 August 2004). "Esperando al doctor Freud". Metrópoli – via El Mundo.
- ^ "Unconscious". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ "Awards". Imdb.com. Imdb.com, Inc. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ "Inconscientes". premiosgoya.com. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
- ^ "Awards". Imdb.com. Imdb.com, Inc. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ "Awards". Imdb.com. Imdb.com, Inc. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- Bibliography
- Pérez Morán, Ernesto; Pérez Millán, Juan Antonio (2008). Cien médicos en el cine de ayer y de hoy. Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. ISBN 978-84-7800-291-7.
External links
- Inconscientes at ICAA's Catálogo de Cinespañol
- Inconscientes at IMDb