Nymph()maniac: Volume 1

Lars von Trier deserves a lot of credit for daring to film such an uncomfortable topic that everyone’s interested in, but few would find the courage to tackle. Let’s be happy that it was done by a filmmaker with such screenwriting and filmmaking talent. Who else could have gotten Hollywood stars to perform in such an explicit movie, which features hard-core footage even in the edited version for release in cinemas? (maybe Michael Haneke, but that’s about it.) The dialogue, work with the actors, escalation of the scenes, atmosphere… everything works perfectly. Nymph()maniac is a film for adult viewers, but not because of its erotic content. The more you know about sex and the more experience you have, the more you will understand it. It is a psychologically contemplative, serious and sad film, but it is narrated with wit, through metaphorical comparisons. The definition of polyphony is at the heart of the film and the Rammstein déjà vu of Lynch’s Lost Highway gives it some extra flavor. I am curious about the second part and even more curious about the full version, which already has a place reserved on my shelf of essential films. (12/31/2013)

Not completely... but still very promising. Humorous and dark stories from life are sometimes shocking, as some comparisons can be. Von Trier by the way explains the secret of good fly fishing. Maybe it’s due to heavy producer’s cutting, but Nymph()maniac doesn’t (yet) seem like an over the top erotic movie, but a study of female sexuality presented in a fresh and entertaining way. The audience at the movie theater laughed at the right places (situations that are funny if they aren’t happening to you) and jumped in shock several times, but during the nympho scenes, nobody was offended, on the other hand they probably weren’t disappointed, either. The acting can’t be faulted at all. A top-notch cast dominated surprisingly by the young Stacy Martin (who looks exactly like a classmate from college) rather than by Charlotte Gainsbourg, but it’ll probably be the other way round in part two. In the supporting roles, Uma Thurman draws attention with her flawless creation of a perfect wife and Christian Slater in the role of the kind daddy. So far intriguing and it looks like it’s going to get even more so. Zwei Bilder nur ein Rahmen... Ein Körper doch zwei Namen... Zwei Dochte eine Kerze... Zwei Seelen in einem Herzen... (12/29/2013)

This is exactly how it looks when someone says that girls deal with bullshit. Lars Von Trier captured it very well, so basically it's a film about nothing. It has lots of references and metaphors, but in essence, it doesn't actually say anything. So, the best film about sex remains Eyes Wide Shut, which does say something. (08/16/2014)

Lars von Trier once again made me think. Not only did he make a unique biographical film, but he also crossed the boundaries with an excellent camera and a special way of narration, to which he is actually no stranger. What’s worse is the fact that he divided the story of a nymphomaniac into two long two-hour films, which have no fundamental point at all for the viewer to focus on. We just see Charlotte Gainsbourg lying on the street, beaten within an inch of her life. Stellan Skarsgård takes her under his wings, wishing to hear her story. Why was she lying beaten on the street? So Charlotte starts telling her story. Chapter 1 – a discovery that I have a pussy. Chapter 2 – a discovery how to use my pussy. And then a story starts to unfold about the nymphomaniac using others, not caring what it does to them. At the same time she starts to meet people who are even more twisted than she is. At times it’s absurd, at times it’s fun, a few shots came straight from a porn flick, but as a whole it did absolutely nothing to me. Anyhow I started watching the second part right away, because I was hoping that the story would get at least a bit depraved… (12/10/2014)

For the moment, some indecision about the latest “controversial” prank by Lars. The individual stylistically different chapters are effective, from the depressive Delirium to the almost grotesque (and the most fun) Ms H., with Uma Thurman. But what really annoyed me was the binding conversation between Gainsbourg and Skarsgård, it feels as if they’re talking at cross purposes all the time. It’s drowning in shallow allegories and metaphors, which Trier shows way too literally on top of that. Some of those allegories are so stupid that I have no choice but to consider them as intentional mockery of the philosophers and intellectuals who love to connect the unconnectable, find meaning where there is none, and find profound truths in the likening of a sexual train trip to fishing. Here they don’t need to look for anything because Trier has found it for them, and everything is so explicitly shown, from the fish in the river to the graphic representation of the golden ratio. I believe that he is now laughing and singing something along those lines. If I’m wrong, he’s gone mad. Let’s see what Volume 2 brings. (12/27/2013)