COLOGNE, Germany —The official trailer for the two-part sexual epic “Nymphomaniac” from the quixotic mind of Danish director Lars Von Trier debuted today.
Jumping quickly from titillation to titillation, the trailer reifies the titular theme of nymphomania with snippets of compromising scenes starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgard, Stacy Martin, Shia LaBeouf, Jamie Bell, Uma Thurman and Willem Dafoe.
Bookended by music from Rammstein, the video cuts from an extreme close-up of a vagina to a car being set on fire to a roughed-up Gainsbourg chatting with Skarsgard — all within the first 12 seconds!
The rapid-fire of sexy-strange images is interrupted by a brief philosophic confession from Gainsbourg, “The only difference between me and other people is that I’ve always demanded more from the sunset, more spectacular colors when the sun hit the horizon. That’s perhaps my only sin.”
YouTube user Swistaa commented online, "I think this film has real artistic potential beyond simply trying to be shocking. I'd much rather see sex than violence and gore, and I'd like to see that it becomes more acceptable, in that order.?"
The trailer follows a long theatrical buildup of short video teasers, the last of which was banned from YouTube for its overt sexuality (but, to Von Trier’s art haus credit, did include a leopard.)
“Nymphomaniac” stars Gainsbourg as Joe, a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac who recounts her life story to Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard), an old, charming bachelor who finds Joe beaten up in an alley.
Reportedly running more than five hours, “Nymphomaniac” made a large media stir after it was announced that the film, already expected to contain ample graphic nudity, will actually feature an innovative technique in which its stars’ faces are grafted onto the bodies of porn star stunt doubles engaging in hardcore sex.
The film’s release date has been altered quite a few times, and was originally scheduled to screen at Cannes last May, but is now set to release Christmas Day in Denmark.
To watch the NSFW trailer on YouTube, click here.
