Well, after three years of talking about it, “Nymphomaniac: Volume I” is finally available to watch in the U.S. via OnDemand starting today. You still have to wait one more month for the second half, but hopefully, the first volume will be enough to keep you satisfied for now (and it should be — read our review). To honor the film’s OnDemand release, a new 30-second spot which will give you a good taste of what “Nymphomaniac” is about. It’s actually safe to view the clip at work too. The spot prominently features Charlotte Gainsbourg, Stellan Skarsgaard, and Uma Thurman who star in the film alongside Shia LaBeouf and Stacy Martin.
Considering the sexually-explicit nature of the film, perhaps it should be no surprise that more controversy has erupted in the past few days. Members of the film board in Turkey have moved forward with the decision to ban “Nymphomaniac” from being released in their country in a 6-to-2 decision . The members have made this decision based on their opinion that the film’s sexually explicit scenes make it pornography, not art. Turkey’s cinema general director Cem Erkul told Agence France-Presse, “This film is in the porn category… because of its explicit sexual scenes. It also depicts extreme violence against women.”
Not everyone is on board with the banning of the film. Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan is very much against this decision saying, “I strongly condemn the ban on the film ‘Nymphomaniac’ while there is in fact a policy in place on age limit.” Turkey’s decision comes one month after Romania decided to reverse their ban on the film. The Romanian film board originally gave “Nymphomaniac” an XXX rating before changing it to 18 plus. The controversy over the original decision to give it an XXX rating actually lead to the President of the film ratings commission getting demoted.
We are certain to hear more controversy as “Nymphomaniac” continues its rollout around the world. Meanwhile, you can check out a couple of interviews with the film’s cast just below. Stacy Martin, who plays young Joe, talks about her character’s sexuality as well as her surprise when she saw the sex scenes in the final film. There’s also an 11-minute interview with Von Trier regular Stellan Skarsgaard who gives more insight into the film and how director Lars Von Trier works with actors. He also provides his own two cents regarding all the controversy. Both interviews are definitely worth the watch. [Indiewire/THR]