tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148440.post5792676166654792182..comments2023-12-06T03:47:05.880-05:00Comments on LabuzaMovies.Com: Closed For Interpretation: Lars Von Trier's NymhomaniacPeter Labuzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09057154332391743369noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11148440.post-24034424816340283472014-10-02T14:06:29.332-04:002014-10-02T14:06:29.332-04:00I'll admit, I went with the "easy reading...I'll admit, I went with the "easy reading" of the film the first time (the formal changes between chapters in Volume I seemed reminiscent of The Five Obstructions, and the whole speech about use of the word "negro" seemed like a shot across the bow at von Trier's Nazi controversy), but really like the idea you pose of the film existing for provocation's sake.<br /><br />Seligman describes how some fish only take the bait when directly provoked, and watching the Director's Cut made me wonder if this is how von Trier treats his audience. If your reputation is that of a provocateur, you have to push even harder to really shock people who expect transgression, and perhaps try to prove their maturity by acting as though they're above it. <br /><br />Though the abortion scene certainly would be the thing to not make it to North American screens, I wonder if it was intentionally held back specifically so that the Director's Cut could provoke even those who saw the original cut. I'll admit to watching most of the abortion sequence through knit fingers, enjoying not so much the impact it was having on the story (which it does: Joe's relationship to P becomes more interesting in light of twice refusing motherhood), but the fact that I was seeing something I wasn't prepared for. <br /><br />I prefer your read on the ending, which I didn't like before and still don't like with the DC. Much of my own engagement with Nymphomaniac stemmed from being unsure whether or not von Trier was sincerely trying to be transgressive, or whether the whole thing was a 6-hour con job, wherein the most provocative thing he could do was make a vulgar shaggy dog story, and see whether critics or "fans" of his work would take the bait by trying to ascribe deeper meaning to it. The latter option better explained the ending to me, which felt like a cruel punchline. That being said, it did provoke a reaction in me, even though I considered myself enlightened enough to not be upset by a film that shows hardcore sex. SWnoreply@blogger.com