Brand new posters have been released on Nymphomaniac, Lars von Triers new movie. Paul takes us through them!
You guys know Lars von Trier, right? Sure you do. He's practically everyone's favourite director of light family entertainment. Didn't he make Home Alone?* Populism, thy name is Lars.
Fast forward two years and today saw the release of a series of character one-sheets for his newest film, Nymphomaniac. In the film, a woman (and self-diagnosed nymphomaniac) finds an older man beaten in an alleyway and takes him home to care for him. From here, the tale swirls around the region of sex, desire and relationships. And it features some actual sex. And stars Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Maybe he wasn't kidding back at Cannes.
The posters that have been released to publicise the film have made the choice to give each actor their own poster, seemingly naked and caught at the exact moment of orgasm. It's a bold move, not just from the marketing department, but from each of the actors who allowed themselves to be caught in such vulnerable, potentially unflattering, occasionally quite angry poses in all their sweaty, naked glory.
Even though it seems like it might all be for the sake of titillation or controversy, knowing Lars the way we do, that's probably only half the battle, two-thirds tops. I'm expecting him to bring us something that will be as ugly and off-putting as it is stimulating or arousing. Von Trier's work has so often had the connective theme of "the end of things" be it on a global scale (see the aforementioned Melancholia) or a more personal meaning (see the absolutely heartbreaking Dancer in the Dark). I'm expecting him to bring new meaning to the term "la petite mort".
So, I'll ask you all what I've been asking people all day (in a totally not creepy way)... Which of these posters is your favourite?
*Yeah, Chris Columbus made Home Alone. And this may be the only article you'll ever read that mentions von Trier and Columbus in the same space.