Nymphomaniac was one of the most perverted films I've ever seen. It has totally changed by perception of Charlotte Gainsbourg. I saw her in Science of Sleep where she played a middle class young woman looking for love. In Nymphomaniac she is a sex obsessed woman who is totally revealed. She delves into levels of perversity that shock bourgeous audiences sense of morality and decency. Yet, that's what makes the film so interesting. It is a depiction of one girl's sexual escapades from her early youth until adutlhood. The concept of the film is controversial by it's very nature. The film was only released in limited theatrical and online. I bought it online through amazon.com. Nymphomaniac, like other films has been part of a trend of "hot at the Art House." With Nymphomaniac and Blue is the Warmest Color sex films have returned after a long hiatus from mainstream culture. Back in the 1970's there were some films that challenged conventional sexual relations. Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris and Oshima's In the Realm of the Senses are two of the most well known films from that period.
Nymphomaniac is a straight forward story. The first part is told in flashbacks. The second volume catches up to Gainsbourg when she is and adult. I was somewhat distracted during my viewing of the film. I suppose it's because of the controversy that surrounded the release of the film. I talked about it with some of my colleagues from where I teach and there was a resounding rejection of the film. I was even called a "perv" for mentioning it in the class I teach. Still, I resounded to watch the film and judge for myself.
The strongest part of the film is the story. And what makes up the story are the sex acts. They shock, they jar the viewer out of complacency, and force you to consider the utter depravity that the heroine of the film lives in. She goes from one sexual encounter to the other, having sex with too many partners to keep track of. At first the nude scenes are erotic. The sexual encounters are arousing. After many scenes with many different partners the heroine is depicted as a dark character with no remorse, guilt, or regret about her behavior that falls outside of accepted bourgeois society. When she finally goes to sex addiction counseling, she tells the group that she is not a sex addict, but a Nymphomaniac. And that she "loves her desire." She is so defiant. She refuses to change. Which makes her a paryha. An outsider who can't get a grip.
I have to say that the most provocative scene is the train scene where Gainsbourg and her friend are competing to see who can sleep with the most men. The sequence is very well done. The shots, the dialogue, all of the actors have British accents, and the girls are dressed in their "fuck me now clothes." The eroticism of these scenes is compelling. It draws the viewer in and leaves them reminded of their first experiences with romance. Young, lustful girls, on a slow train in Denmark, perverted as it may sound it certainly caused shorten breaths and longing gazes at the images on the screen.
The film is further complicated after von Trier made his infamous comments that he was a Nazi. This was his first film since his controversial statement. It cannot be entered into competition at Cannes because von Trier has been banned from the festival which I think is a bit harsh of a sentence. Yet he still has other film festivals to show his films. This controversy came up again and again when I brought up the film at school. I think it created a negativity about the release of the film which caused people to see more of the politics of his statement rather than the artistic expression of his film.
I'm biased though. I'm a huge fan of von Trier films. Ever since I saw Europa I have studied and watched von Trier's films. I have also studied the Dogma 95 film movement and have watched several other Danish films. I think he is a great director. Perhaps the best of his generation.
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