by Valirie Morgan
Notoriously shocking director Lars Von Trier is back with a project many are calling his most controversial work yet – Nymphomaniac, an “epic sexual odyssey” presented in two films. On Saturday, 22nd February, British cinema audiences will get the chance to watch Nymphomaniac in its entirety as Volume I and II are screened back-to-back in cinemas nationwide. Following the screenings will be an on-stage Q&A session with actors Stellan Skarsgård and Stacy Martin, broadcast live via satellite from the Curzon Chelsea in London.
Cinemas across the country have been invited to take part in the one-night-only event via social media, and audiences have the chance to ask their own questions to the film’s stars. More information will be communicated closer to the event’s date, and updates can always be found on the film’s official Twitter page: @NymphomaniacUK.
Nymphomaniac Part I and Part II recount the traumatic life of a self-confessed sex addict called Joe (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg) from her birth until age 50. Joe narrates her own life story after being found beaten up in an alley by a charming older bachelor named Seligman (portrayed by Stellan Skarsgård) on a cold winter night. Seligman brings her home to his flat to assist with her wounds and asks Joe about her life. He then listens (as does the audience) while Joe recounts the explicit and colorful events of her life, presented in eight separate chapters.
The film has been met with criticism over its intensely explicit content. Director Von Trier worked to make everything look real-to-life, including the many depictions of sexual acts. He actually had the genitals of pornographic film actors digitally imposed on the bodies of Nymphomaniac‘s actors in order to avoid simulated sex and instead portray the real act in the film’s explicit scenes.
Just last week it was reported that the second installment of Nymphomaniac had been banned in Romania after receiving an “IM 18 XXX” certification by the country’s cinema board, which bars a film from being shown to the general public. Meanwhile, an uncut version of Nymphomaniac Part I is scheduled to be shown in its 145-minute entirety this week at a film festival in Berlin.
Tickets are still available for several screenings around London. They can be purchased through the film’s official website. Take a look at the trailer for the event below: