MovieChat Forums > Nymphomaniac: Vol. II (2014) Discussion > Director's cut - The Mirror: Abortion se...

Director's cut - The Mirror: Abortion sequence - spoilers

posted 10 years ago by adsinoz
3 replies | jump to latest

This is probably the hardest scene I have ever sat through, I thought I was going to be sick.

I must say though that it does add more depth to Joe's character, and to her story.

On a personal level, as a male, I have never really thought too much about the reality of how an abortion is done. I identified with Seligman's dismissive comments about not wanting to hear all the gory details. However Joe refuses to let him (and us) off the hook and forces us to be confronted with the reality of terminating a pregnancy.

It's a hard, brutal and unforgettable scene, and in my opinion until you have seen this sequence, you haven't really experienced Nymphomaniac.

Nobody gonna sleep here

[–] TheMichael 10 years ago

I helluva agree that if you don't see the director's cut you haven't seen the movie. Not just because... well.... IT'S THE DIRECTOR'S CUT, but also because the WHOLE BLOODY MOVIE is about testing the stomach of another man while he accepts it all with an affirming calm that THIS IS what life is. It's not pretty, but knowledge of these things are neither good or bad, they're fact of life, and you shouldn't hide life from the public. I think it's a big message that you have two characters: the one who knows it all and the one who has been through it all, because they're the one's who can judge morality, not the little supporting characters who don't understand something or don't get what they want so they get angry. We should embrace knowledge like Joe and Seligman, either by doing or by reading, but never avert from the not-so-English details of life. And that's why it was so important for this movie to be so graphic as well. It's all very appropriate for the theme the movie is going for.

[–] lorenzoocon 10 years ago

I have a question about that particular scene. How is the camera work during it? Ive noticed that, based on the other clips I've seen, there's quite a bit of hand held cam. Is the camera steady throughout this scene?

[–] TheMichael 10 years ago

Oh, believe me, the hand-held camera work does not blur out the details of the movie. You're seeing more than you wished you had seen.

But out of all hand-held camera work, Lars Von Trier uses it THE BEST way. It's not simply shaky-cam like most independent movies. The way Von Treir doesn't give a damn about continuity when editing, where the camera moves, the zoom in and outs; it's all in a structured and precise chaos. I love it.