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esteeb.art · @esteeb.art@bridge.neodb.net

Rated Nymphomaniac: Vol. II 2/10

Like I said…if it would have ended in the first half thing would be a lot different. But it did not. The 2nd half of this thing (and learning the broader context of its creation) reveals it to be a pretentious, cowardly, petulant shitpost of a movie.  First let’s acknowledge that I’m approaching this through the lens of the metaphor being Gainsborough as artist/self insert vs Skarsgård as a stand in for critics and the intellectual class. And if this was meant to be bait then it got me. Because I think you could make the argument that up to the last 2 minutes of the film he has us all pegged. Well meaning, but ultimately pedantic and a little annoying. But then at the last second liken them to the worst kind of people (in this case rapists) is so fucking rich. Who does Von Trier think watches his movies? Would there even be an audience for his work if not for these people he finds so disgusting? But what I think bothers me the most is the cowardice of this whole thing. Alright fine, you think you’re this misunderstood artist and you are beyond criticism. You made your “Fuck the Haters” movie. But, most of the time, when directors decide to grapple with their creative process and their place as artists while simultaneously airing out their dirty laundry they have the guts to place themselves in the lead or at least cast someone or use a metaphor that leaves very little doubt that the work is at least semi-autobiographical. Von Trier hides behind Gainsborough and a half assed attempt at making a movie about female sexuality and empowerment to shield himself from more criticism concerning some of the very gross things he’s advocating for in this movie (to be clear I mean casual racism, antisemitism, pedophilia, not to mention the only queer relationship depicted is a clear cut case of grooming a minor). At best he’s trying to misdirect, or bait the liberal minded snowflakes who banned him from Cannes to criticize a movie about women. At worst he genuinely thinks his “struggles” are the same. It’s pretty rare that a creator does something or makes something so heinous and shitty that it retroactively makes even their previous work worse. But it’s pretty clear what Von Trier thinks of the people who engage with his work, so I don’t think I’ll be doing that anymore. Fuck em.

#movie

Published 2022-10-20 00:00 UTC · bridged from Atmosphere