Nymphomaniac: Volume II
Magnolia Pictures | Release Date: April 4, 2014
6.5
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Generally favorable reviews based on 163 Ratings
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Mixed:
36
Negative:
28
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7
LamontRaymondApr 4, 2014
Vastly superior to the first film, but I really hate the ending. Feels like a cop-out after 4 hours of sitting through this story. The benefit of part II is that you don't have to deal with Slater/Uma, who really sink the first part. AndVastly superior to the first film, but I really hate the ending. Feels like a cop-out after 4 hours of sitting through this story. The benefit of part II is that you don't have to deal with Slater/Uma, who really sink the first part. And you get more Gainsbourg, who is awesome.… Expand
2 of 3 users found this helpful21
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10
MarkoliusDec 18, 2014
Lars Von Trier's particular, fantastical, and existential depiction of human nature- the relentless betrayal, humanity's seemingly divinely fated inability to avoid suffering, and our infinitely unique interpretation of that suffering -isLars Von Trier's particular, fantastical, and existential depiction of human nature- the relentless betrayal, humanity's seemingly divinely fated inability to avoid suffering, and our infinitely unique interpretation of that suffering -is vividly and beautifully shown. I'm not saying you have to agree with his interpretation, but you will not find a more completely rendered and thought provoking execution of it in all of film. Many have tried, but Lars Von Trier holds this mocking throne highest. He screws you over (especially and most necessarily at the very end) with no less drama, irony, and poetic injustice than Brutus did Julius Cesear or Judas did Jesus Christ. Nymphomania (volumes I & II) is his magnificently harmonized opus to this terrifying but undeniable expression of humanity.… Expand
1 of 2 users found this helpful11
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8
foxgroveApr 4, 2014
This is undoubtedly more of a piece than the first film, but the two should be viewed in tandem and despite flaws are well worth sitting through even as a four hour plus marathon. Charlotte Gainsbourg takes over the central role from StacyThis is undoubtedly more of a piece than the first film, but the two should be viewed in tandem and despite flaws are well worth sitting through even as a four hour plus marathon. Charlotte Gainsbourg takes over the central role from Stacy Martin and by now one has accepted the improbable scenario connecting chapters. This second part flows a lot better than the first and the screenplay touching on some really provocative themes, including race, paedophilia and gender in equality, is handled in an interesting and thought provoking manner. The ending ties things up effectively and somewhat surprisingly.… Expand
0 of 2 users found this helpful02
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7
LeZeeMay 7, 2014
As the story follows from the volume 1 my review too not much difference because to me, I watched these two parts as a narrow single story. I does liked it for many reasons and one of it was the soundtracks, so awesome. This installment wasAs the story follows from the volume 1 my review too not much difference because to me, I watched these two parts as a narrow single story. I does liked it for many reasons and one of it was the soundtracks, so awesome. This installment was only slightly different in form of a story. It demonstrates the transformation of the character Joe, from what we had known her in the first.

This movie with two volumes were the final movie of Lars Von Trier's 'depression' trilogy after 'Antichrist' and 'Melacholia'. An astonishing performance by Charlotte Gainsbourg in all the three movie. In fact Von Trier used her perfectly according to the script demanded. All these three movies will be her career best. In some of the scenes I could not believe it and said 'was she did it?'. Yes of course, but filmmakers has a different theory and says they used a body double in sensitive portion of the scenes with the little help of computer magic.

It is an inappropriate movie for the few though well made movie if you consider it is a reality for those who are affected by nymphomania. The movie is available in two versions, explicit and softer edition. So I recommend the people are eager to watch this choose according to your need.

I have already said almost everything in the volume 1 review that is why volume 2 review looks kind of pale. So you can go through that if you have not read yet. #Nymphomaniac: Volume 1 Review. Overall, this duology was one of the best among similar themes, especially who love adult movie with a clean merge of reasonable drama.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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10
PanchogulSep 23, 2020
Considero tanto a la parte 1 como a la parte 2 como una sola película de casi 6 horas, así que mi comentario será mas bien general.

Nymphomaniac es para mi la película mas desenfadada de la Trilogía de la Depresión y al mismo tiempo la queConsidero tanto a la parte 1 como a la parte 2 como una sola película de casi 6 horas, así que mi comentario será mas bien general.

Nymphomaniac es para mi la película mas desenfadada de la Trilogía de la Depresión y al mismo tiempo la que mejor narrada y escrita está, mas allá del posible morbo que pueda generar, es una excelente película, es muy elocuente e interesante, Joe cuenta sus relatos de manera tan desinhibida que confiada que podrías escucharla hablarte hasta el cansancio, no se guarda ningún detalle y hasta el mas retorcido de ellos es fascinante de oír generando placer y extasis. Me encantó también todo el simbolismo y metáforas con las que el personaje de Stellan Skarsgard relaciona los acontecimientos de Joe y esta a su vez es receptiva y abierta al debate. Definitivamente ésta película forma parte de mis gustos más personales, definitivamente no es para todo el mundo, después de todo estamos hablando de Lars Von Trier.… Expand
0 of 1 users found this helpful01
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8
TVJerryApr 14, 2014
The philosophical and physological conversation that started between Stellan Skarsgård and Charlotte Gainsbourg in Vol 1 picks up where it left. This time she's lost all sensation in her genitals, which sends her to extremes (includingThe philosophical and physological conversation that started between Stellan Skarsgård and Charlotte Gainsbourg in Vol 1 picks up where it left. This time she's lost all sensation in her genitals, which sends her to extremes (including intense S&M with Jamie Bell). This one does go deeper and darker with less cinematic flair and more intense personal exploration. It's still compelling and even more explicit (still not really erotic), but serves as a fitting conclusion to the pair.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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8
MikefromAngusJul 7, 2014
Volume 2 is a lot better then the first. Still there were times, when I was bored with the story. It seemed like to needed to be better edited. But the ending surprised me and it was a good one.
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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8
lasttimeisawJun 17, 2014
A 4-hour binge watching of provocateur Lars von Trier’s latest feminist saga (divided into two volumes) is a candid confession of a middle-age nymphomaniac Joe (Gainsbourg, doughtily consummates her enthralling rendering in von Trier’sA 4-hour binge watching of provocateur Lars von Trier’s latest feminist saga (divided into two volumes) is a candid confession of a middle-age nymphomaniac Joe (Gainsbourg, doughtily consummates her enthralling rendering in von Trier’s Trilogy of Depression, after ANTICHRIST 2009 and MELANCHOLIA 2011, 8/10), out of self-hatred, she chronicles her deviant life from childhood to present, to an elder Jewish polymath Seligman (Skarsgård), who brings her home after finding her lying on the street afflicted from a savage assault.

read the rest of my review on my blog, google cinema omnivore, thanks!… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
NightReviewsApr 4, 2014
Leaving us on the cusp of coming…to any real closure with our young protagonist Joe (Stacy Martin), von Trier throws quite the curve ball with his character and the overall story, allowing the narrative to take an unexpected turn. After fiveLeaving us on the cusp of coming…to any real closure with our young protagonist Joe (Stacy Martin), von Trier throws quite the curve ball with his character and the overall story, allowing the narrative to take an unexpected turn. After five chapters in the life of Joe’s deranged and numb life, we continue into her sexual escapades as she becomes a woman, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg. Nymphomaniac: Volume II picks up exactly where Volume I left off, and doesn’t leave any sex or shock behind. Instead, Volume II is the overly stimulated, ultra aroused, and intellectually charged sexual explicit drama that Volume I never was.

Although the film was never meant to be split into two parts, and von Trier intended the film to be his original five and a half hour long cut, Volume II is the complex and deep answer to a conventionally linear sexually charged character piece that was Volume I. Think of Nymphomaniac in the same way as you would Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill saga. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 is soaked with violence and bloodshed, making great use of the magic of movie spectacle and serving as a valiant homage to so many of the films Tarantino grew up with and loved.Kill Bill: Vol. 2, a film that infuses so many of the complex philosophies Tarantino has cherished, as well as surely inducting many of his own radical and absurd justifications without much violence, spectacle or gore, the film becomes a philosophical, witty and complex story with an understanding of his protagonist’s psyche and the reason behind her vengeance. Now picture Nymphomaniac: Volume II in the same way as Kill Bill: Vol. 2, but instead of violence, substitute it for graphic nudity and sexual acts (although it is not nearly as subtracted as the violence in Vol.2 of Kill Bill). So basically, the second film in von Trier’s carnal opus is a long-winded, understanding of Joe’s addiction and the ways in which she tries to subdue it, or if anything, control it.

Volume II descends to the deep and dark corners of a woman who no longer finds simple penetrative intercourse pleasurable. When sex is not enough, what happens? If Joe is any indication of real world nymphomaniacs and the paths they follow in order to find pleasure, von Trier never prepares us for the unexpected directions Joe goes, desperately to find pleasure, at any cost.

There is no doubting that Joe finds erotic pleasure in the most taboo places and scenarios. She purposely pulls the wires from her car to attract a large crowd of men, who she presumably goes back to have sex with as the camera pans out. She finds strangers on the street, specifically two black men, who so happen to be brothers, to penetrate her at the same time. The scene, which is a big production still that was used towards the marketing of the film, is less graphic and erotic than what you would imagine, and instead more hysterical as it unfolds, especially with the quarrels of the two men. In Joe’s last attempt to find pleasure with a **** that has failed her, Joe finds a man by the name of K (Jamie Bell), an expert in the brutal art of bondage/BDSM whom she finds stimulating through violence and pain. Her relationship is one that she sacrifices the most for as she becomes a woman and a business professional, compromising her health, the little family Joe has, and of course, the limits of her addiction. Volume II of the saga explores the ways in which people find meaning in their addictions without penetration, although they are overall, mostly naturally and habitually inclined to express themselves through intercourse.

If you know anything about Lars von Trier, you would know that he is a man with many phobias. An intense fear of flying and various bouts of serious depression, the director is a man who implements so many of his phobias onto his characters, especially Nymphomaniac. Ironically enough, since his declaration to never be part of interviews or press conferences again since his last conference at Cannes accused him of loving Hitler and being a Satanist, Volume II has a lot of bottled up feelings the director has been dying to express–in controversial fashion.

Throughout Joe’s narration of her life to Seligman (Skarsgård), he describes her actions to those of a man’s behaviour of sex. For the most part, Joe is always powerless to her men, especially in the scenes with K (Bell) who appropriately gives her the alias Fido, a name predominantly used for a dog. Joe is submissive and obedient to anything K says, including tying her to couches, chairs or asked to stand still, unflinching, regardless of the painful outcome. Although Joe seems to give all the power to her sexual partners, there is no denying the control she has over them, mentally persuading them to adhere to her requests.… Expand
0 of 0 users found this helpful00
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9
NiamLeeson79Apr 13, 2014
Lars Von Trier! A name among the film world that is held in awe, in wonder and sometimes in pure outrage and disgust. I have not seen all his back catalogue (fellow film fans frequently tell me i must watch Dancer in the Dark) but from what iLars Von Trier! A name among the film world that is held in awe, in wonder and sometimes in pure outrage and disgust. I have not seen all his back catalogue (fellow film fans frequently tell me i must watch Dancer in the Dark) but from what i have seen i can tell Von Trier is a very passionate, creative film-maker who i don't think cares what people think of him. His self righteous, controversial views have over flowed into his films before. The Idiots and Dogville being utterly devoid of any redeeming features and just beyond me in terms of structure and thesis. Melancholia had decent performances but did labor and I always found Antic-Christ highly intriguing and quite creepy in places but i think Nymphomaniac is his most assured work to date.
Divided into two volumes of roughly two hours each, the tormentingly titled Nymphomaniac tells the story of the troubled, bruised and stricken Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) as she describes it to soft philosopher Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), who rescued her after finding her blacked out in an alley. The first part indulges Joe's childhood and youthful erotic experiences with charming, witty verve, before descending into darker, more painful territory in the second part as Joe's desires come up against the overpowering pressures and constraining necessities of adult nature.
Listening to the stories throughout, and allowing occasional variations of his own, Seligman is the perfect confessor; a middle-aged virgin whose life has been lived through the words of others. Firstly, there are some incredibly controversial moments, but, coming after the relaxing of the way films are censored in the UK, are not as outrageous as one would imagine. Erections, genitalia close-ups and real sex have all lost their long held taboo milestone in the movies; although it is still only 'art house' films that tend to get away with them.The scene involving Uma Thurman as the aggrieved wife of one of Stacey Martin's character (the young Joe) lovers is probably where the film is at its weirdest but even this lends itself to the realities of a world far from Triers mind games. Stacey Martinis heavenly in her role and her learning curve is expertly handled and crafted.
Supported by other intense, in turns courageous and uproarious performances, as well as a soundtrack that includes diverse stuff from Rammstein to Beethoven, in keeping with the film's free, candid spirit, Nymphomaniac is a stimulating tour de force that takes in the whole of the singular human experience, including the body and the mind, sex and love, art and life, and all of the complicated and wonderful connections between them. Overwhelming, energising and exhilarating, Nymphomaniac is a brave film made by a man with a generous lust for life in all its cruelty, eccentricity and outrageousness.
The misogyny(that some people are suggesting) is misguided, i can show you many films more misogynistic than this. most 12a's these days have needless titillation in for a start. After all; this is seen though a woman's eyes and there is enough tenderness if you dig deep to counteract any feeling of hatred toward the films harsher moments.
So much to take in, it is not for mainstream audiences but it has meaning behind it and with Shia Labeouf's chagrin and silly accent, Slater's dirty posterior among other moments of zaniness, its also viewed as a dark comedy. As the Americans might put it, maybe even Von Trier might describe it..It isn't a film that you can jerk off to(not that i tried). Its not as transparent as the explicit flesh that is on show would have you believe!… Expand
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10
blockofcheeseAug 8, 2014
Continues right from the end of Volume I and it stills holds that erotica epic movie feel. I love the cinematographer on both films, Manuel Alberto Claro. They have a uniqueness to the whole composition of both Volumes. this is one of myContinues right from the end of Volume I and it stills holds that erotica epic movie feel. I love the cinematographer on both films, Manuel Alberto Claro. They have a uniqueness to the whole composition of both Volumes. this is one of my favouirte directors Lars von Trier, another favourite of mine he did is the 1996 film Breaking the Waves, which also features Stellan Skarsgård, who is a brillaint actore, also think this is Charlotte Gainsbourg's break through films A+++++!!… Expand
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8
talisencrwSep 27, 2014
I enjoyed this sequel, though not quite as much as the first part. It misses having more of Christian Slater, Stacy Martin and, dare I say it, Shia LaBeouf, like the first part did, and von Trier's metaphors aren't as creative or asI enjoyed this sequel, though not quite as much as the first part. It misses having more of Christian Slater, Stacy Martin and, dare I say it, Shia LaBeouf, like the first part did, and von Trier's metaphors aren't as creative or as intelligently constructed. The ending's perfect though--I felt that would happen, one way or the other. Recommended if you're not prudish and have a sense of humour, especially about love and sex, and if you're a von Trier fan and thus know what you're getting yourself into. I definitely look forward to what he has next up his sleeve--he and Werner Herzog are definitely the most consistently interesting European directors of the past 30+ years.… Expand
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8
LaraRDec 5, 2014
This volume made me pity the main character far more than the first one. Charlotte Gainsbourg's performance was flawless. At times, it felt like torture watching her character undergo those experiences, which justifies just how well sheThis volume made me pity the main character far more than the first one. Charlotte Gainsbourg's performance was flawless. At times, it felt like torture watching her character undergo those experiences, which justifies just how well she executed her role. Von Trier truly did compel me to see erotica in a new light, remaining consistent with the genuine elements the previous film conveyed. But that ending though, it felt like a huge slap in the face.… Expand
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8
RalfbergsMar 13, 2017
Weaker than first movie, but still has interesting ideas and philosophical feel to it. The movie makes you think and the conversations that it has have really interesting comparisons and philosophic points to think about. I didn't like otherWeaker than first movie, but still has interesting ideas and philosophical feel to it. The movie makes you think and the conversations that it has have really interesting comparisons and philosophic points to think about. I didn't like other Lars von Trier movie I saw, but this one was quite good if you think about it philosophically.… Expand
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7
hugoferreiraAug 28, 2018
The second volume takes on a darker tone of it's previous and you get the feeling that Lars looses a bit of track in the second part of the epic. The film itself separated from it's predecessor is weak and a bit hollow film. It gets a betterThe second volume takes on a darker tone of it's previous and you get the feeling that Lars looses a bit of track in the second part of the epic. The film itself separated from it's predecessor is weak and a bit hollow film. It gets a better view of the sexuality part but the storytelling part takes a huge left turn in this film. The ending is the perfect finally, it's the changing detail in the film. Without it and it's first volume the movie would be dull and not so fascinating. Everything glued together and the series becomes an erotic and human epic. Time to check it out and enjoy it, but not to much ;).… Expand
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7
miccaelNov 18, 2019
This was a hard movie to watch, sad, strange, plot twists everywhere. But what an ending...
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8
alejandro970Jan 30, 2022
What is interesting is how the approach in this second part maintains the rhythm of the previous chapter. This occasion gives the idea that the "heroine" shows signs of repentance, since her behavior has become selfish and self-destructive.What is interesting is how the approach in this second part maintains the rhythm of the previous chapter. This occasion gives the idea that the "heroine" shows signs of repentance, since her behavior has become selfish and self-destructive. The ending is not exactly unexpected but cataclysmic, yes. Preferably, to see alone.… Expand
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10
eroticcollectDec 21, 2018
Excited movie with a lot of nude scenes , very strange and i freak out when watch this movie , thanks for creating it !
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