Cinematically speaking, it's good to occasionally loosen your belt and have a little fun with sex. American films struggle to depict adult sexuality in a carefree manner, often resorting to brain-dead comedies like American Pie. There is the odd Stateside carnal romp -- The Road to Wellville, for example -- but typically, the European cinema is where you can find filmmakers letting it all hang out. Such is the case with writer/director Joaquin Oristrell's fizzy 2004 dramedy Unconscious.

The scene is turn-of-the-century Barcelona, as the works of not-yet-famous psychiatrist Sigmund Freud are taking hold among the elite thinkers of Europe. The very pregnant Alma Pardo (Leonor Watling) has enlisted her brother-in-law Salvador (Luis Tosar, last glimpsed Stateside in Michael Mann's Miami Vice re-boot) to track down her missing husband Leon (Alex Brendemuhl), who she finds one afternoon, crying to himself in his study before abruptly running out the front door. Using a manuscript detailing the treatment of four separate female patients, Alma and Salvador attempt to find out the truth about not only each other, but also Freud's revolutionary thoughts on hysteria and sexuality.

Unconscious is simply fun -- from Watling's luminous performance as the strong-willed Alma to Tosar's moody, fussy turn as the repressed Salvador, it's a film that percolates along, never becoming bogged down in the kinkier details of its narrative and preferring to let the natural chemistry between the lead characters carry the film. While Unconscious does have its considerable charms, it's ultimately a very slight cinematic experience, one that dissipates almost as soon as the credits roll. However, if you're looking something a bit more randy and off-beat some Saturday night, you could do much, much worse than Unconscious.

The Video:

Unconscious is presented in a fine-looking 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that retains a period feel, but never looks dingy or otherwise visually flawed. It's a very smooth, film-like image that pleases from start to finish.

Outfitted with a Dolby 2.0 stereo track (in Spanish), the aural presentation isn't flashy, but does get its job done. Dialogue, score and sound effects are all heard clearly, free from distortion. The forced English subtitles are offered in a very legible font that should be visible to most, if not nearly all, viewers.

Not a terribly thorough package in terms of supplements, what with a photo gallery, a list of five Freud-related Web links, a 10 minute interview (presented in anamorphic widescreen) with Dr. Edward Shafranske and trailers for Unconscious, Stephanie Daley, Aurora Borealis, Show Business: The Road to Broadway and Queens completing the disc.

Unconscious does have its considerable charms, it's ultimately a very slight cinematic experience, one that dissipates almost as soon as the credits roll. However, if you're looking something a bit more randy and off-beat some Saturday night, you could do much, much worse. Recommended.