KT 071 : NYMPH()MANIAC Vol.1 (Lars Von Trier, 2013)
Megan Ng answers why Timothee Chalamet was wearing those (galaxy print) pants at that (Nympomaniac) NYC premiere
Nymphomaniac
Lars Von Trier, 2013
DCP Courtesy: Transmission Films
Classification: R18+
Words by Megan Ng
I firmly regard Nymphomaniac Vol. 1 & 2 to be Lars Von Trier’s pièce de résistance. The film tends to make an appearance on multiple TOP 10 MOST SHOCKING FILMS EVER MADE lists alongside Salo: 120 Days of Sodom, The Human Centipede, and Von Trier’s Antichrist. Both Nymphomaniac and Antichrist are examples of random independent art films that possess a buoyancy rising to the surface of mainstream ‘normie’ consciousness. Your annoying friend ‘knows all about’ Lars Von Trier but has never seen any of his films, they’re also perpetually twenty pages into Tolstoy’s War and Peace and ‘still needs to watch’ Black Swan because ‘they know they would love it’. Nymphomaniac has surely cemented itself as a film with a reputation that precedes it.
Declared ‘persona non grata’ by Cannes… battling sobriety… electricity bills were due at Zentropa… five Krone left in the bank… Lars had one chance. Nymphomaniac marks the third and last addition to the ‘Depression Trilogy’ (after Antichrist and Melancholia) characterised by the director’s own struggles with the mental illness. Nymphomaniac begins with Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård) stumbling upon Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg), senseless and bleeding in an alleyway before inviting her back for some tea and cake. She then willingly gives him a detailed account on her self-diagnosed nymphomania and in return he enlightens her on fly-fishing and Edgar Allen Poe. When discussing form, Von Trier talked about being inspired by discursive structures in literature, “I like that you’re at the mercy of the director and don’t know where you’re going. You just decide that fly-fishing is interesting. And almost everything you dive into becomes exciting. Digressions are wonderful”. Others have also expressed similitude to Juliette by Marquis De Sade (of course). This act of playing with form are shown by the use of quirky intertitles, erratic changes to aspect ratio and graphics to illustrate the Fibonacci sequence. All these suggest Nymphomaniac is his most whimsical film and Von Trier at his best (tied with The Kingdom: Exodus).
Nymphomaniac provides an account of a woman’s fervorous descent into sin knowing there is no place for her in “normal society” and the liberation that lifestyle brings. In the first flashback, teenage Joe and her friend competitively sleep with strangers on a train for a bag of chocolate sweets (interesting to note is that she’s wearing the exact same outfit as Bess in the sailor scene in Breaking the Waves). This bad behaviour is constantly rationalised by Seligman, his voice representing the audience in attempting to attribute Joe’s actions to past trauma or psychological analysis. Joe refreshingly takes responsibility in accepting the danger and adventure of sex, and in contrast talks about the comfort she finds in nature, guided by memories with her father. This further draws on her heightened receptivity to her femininity, with parallels to Kirsten Dunst as the bride in Melancholia as a depressed mother-nature-like figure. All three films in the Depression Trilogy offer provocative perspectives of women dealing with desire, spirituality, and alienation. Von Trier describes melancholia as ‘being the salt you put in the food… to make it a real dish’. The film proves to offer so much more than the sex it promises, masterfully balancing humour while confronting the moral tensions and nuances in Joe’s life.
Von Trier’s long-time muse and Eurostar abuser Charlotte Gainsbourg truly comes out swinging, leaving absolutely zero crumbs in every single film from the trilogy. I love actresses so much. I love them more than anything. The only reason I didn’t personally respond to Von Trier’s pleas for a muse or girlfriend was that I knew there was no chance I could ever compete with her. Gainsbourg plays current-day Joe, and is joined by Stacy Martin as Joe’s younger self - starring in Nymphomaniac was Martin’s first acting job. The supporting cast also includes Shia Labeouf equipped with the most dreadful Cockney accent, Christian Slater as Joe’s loving father, and Uma Thurman as Mrs P, delivering one of the greatest monologue sequences ever (11 minutes long!) raging at ‘the other woman’. A large portion of the cast also includes porn actors which acted out un-simulated depictions of sex in the film- let’s just say you’ll definitely know if you’re watching the cut or uncut version. The fake outrage and fiery online discourse this film generated about ‘pornography vs cinema’ or if sex scenes are necessary is so amateurish and unworthy of anyone’s time. Stellan Skarsgård famously said it’s impossible to masturbate to this film. Below is a screenshot of the comments section of the film on xvideos which perfectly sums things up.
Nymphomaniac: Vol, 1 is screening at the Astor tomorrow night, Friday 28th June at 9pm, as part of the “Erotic Cinema Club” program. The program is apparently presented by two ~sexual wellness~ companies that sell lube and sex toys which is fucking ridiculous I’m sorry. Picture Cronenberg’s Crash being sponsored by RACV or Another Round sponsored by Four Pillars gin. Please send me a vibe report if you attend the screening, and bringing a date makes shlepping all the way to Chapel Street much more bearable. Nymphomaniac is also available to stream on SBS on Demand.
WEEKLY FILM LISTINGS
27 June - 03 July
Focus on Ousmane Sembène
Moolaadé (2003), Mandabi (1968), Black Girl (1966)
Screening Thurs 6:30pm, Sat 2pm, Sun 2pm
Matinees
The Teachers’ Lounge
Ilker Catak, 2023
Screening Fri-Sun
No Screenings this Week
ASTOR CINEMA
Kinds of Kindness (35mm Presentation)
Yorgos Lanthimos, 2024
Screening Tonight, 7:00pm
La Chimera
Alice Rohrwacher, 2023
Screening Fri 28 June, 6pm
Nymphomaniac: Vol. 1
Lars Von Trier, 2013
Screening Fri 28 June, 9pm
Those Who Love
Isabel Coixet, 1998
Screening Sat 29 June 2pm
Johnny Guitar
Nicholas Ray, 1954
Screening Sat 29 June 4pm
Spellbound
Alfred Hitchcock, 1945
Screening Sun 30 June 2pm
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
George Roy Hill, 1969
Screening Sun 30 June, 7pm
The Warriors (40th Anniversary)
Walter Hill, 1979
Screening Mon-Wed, 7:30pm
BBBC CINEMA (GALLERYGALLERY BRUNSWICK)
Go here for program
No screening this week
CHINATOWN CINEMA
Blue Lock Episode Nagi (ENG SUB)
Shinsuke Ishikawa, 2024
Screening Daily
Crisis Negotiators
Herman Yau, 2024
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Inside Out 2 (Chinese Sub)
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Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
Soi Cheang, 2024
Screening from Sat
CINÉ-CLUB (Carlton)
Closed for winter
To Live and Die in L.A.
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Screening Sat 29 June, 6:30pm
New Release
The Beast
Bertrand Bonello, 2023
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All About my Mother
Pedro Almodovar, 1999
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Radical
Christopher Zalla, 2023
Screening Thursday
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
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A Great Friend
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General Release
The Way, My Way
Bill Bennett, 2024
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Martin Bourboulon, 2023
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Monster
Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2023
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Parasite (B&W and in Colour)
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Screening 27 June 20:30
Fremont
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The Taste of Things
Tran Anh Hung, 2023
Screening Daily
The Teacher’s Lounge
Ilker Çatak, 2023
Screening Sat 29 June, 11:55am
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino, 2024
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Freud’s Last Session
Matt Brown, 2023
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Evil Does Not Exist
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi, 2023
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La Chimera
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DOGMILK DEGUSTATIONS: @ Miscellania
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GAY24 (Bar Flippy’s)
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HITLIST (9 Gertrude St, Fitzroy)
Shut for now
LIDO / CLASSIC / CAMEO
General Release
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The Convert
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Late Night with the Devil
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OVA CLUB
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THE MELBOURNE CINÉMATHÈQUE (ACMI)
The Day I Became a Woman
Samira Makhalbaf, 2000
Screening Wed 03 July 7pm
Gabbeh
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Wed 03 July 8:30pm
The Apple
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Wed 03 July 9:55pm
TOP OF THE HEAP (Tramway Hotel)
No screening this week
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MELBOURNE UNIVERSITY: SCREENING IDEAS
No screening this week
PALACE BALWYN / BRIGHTON / COMO / KINO / PENTRIDGE / MOONEE PONDS / WESTGARTH
Spanish Film Festival - Tickets Here
General Release
A Quiet Place: Day One
Michael Sarnoski, 2024
Screening Daily
Radical
Christopher Zalla, 2023
Screening Thursday
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller, 2024
Screening Daily
A Great Friend
Eric Besnard, 2023
Screening Daily
The Way, My Way
Bill Bennett, 2024
Screening Daily
The Three Musketeers: D'artagnan
Martin Bourboulon, 2023
Screening Daily
Fremont
Babak Jalali, 2023
Screening Daily
The Taste of Things
Tran Anh Hung, 2023
Screening Daily
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Screening Daily
Freud’s Last Session
Matt Brown, 2023
Screening Daily
La Chimera
Alice Rohrwacher, 2023
Screening Daily
Late Night with the Devil
Cairnes Brothers’, 2023
Screening Daily
Civil War
Alex Garland, 2023
Screening Daily
No screening this week
General Release
A Quiet Place: Day One
Michael Sarnoski, 2024
Screening Daily
Radical
Christopher Zalla, 2023
Screening Thursday
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
George Miller, 2024
Screening Daily
The Way, My Way
Bill Bennett, 2024
Screening Daily
Housekeeping for Beginners
Goran Stolevski, 2023
Screening daily
Golda
Guy Nattiv, 2023
Screening Daily
Monster
Hirokazu Kore-eda, 2023
Screening daily
Fremont
Babak Jalali, 2023
Screening Daily
The Taste of Things
Tran Anh Hung, 2023
Screening Daily
Challengers
Luca Guadagnino, 2024
Screening Daily
Freud’s Last Session
Matt Brown, 2023
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Robot Dreams
Pablo Berger, 2023
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La Chimera
Alice Rohrwacher, 2023
Screening Daily
Late Night with the Devil
Cairnes Brothers’, 2023
Screening Daily
A Quiet Place: Day One
Michael Sarnoski, 2024
Screening Daily
The Beast
Bertrand Bonello, 2024
Screening Tonight 8:10pm and Wed 8:00pm
The Breadwinner
Nora Twomey, 2017
Screening Sun 30 June, 2:20pm
Where the Olive Trees Weep (All Proceeds going to Palestine Australia Relief and Action)
Zaya Ralitza Benazzo & Maurizio Benazzo, 2024
Screening Sat 29, 6:00pm
UNKNOWN PLEASURES @ Thornbury Picture House
No screening this week - shut until July