Nymphomaniac: Volume I

Part one of the highly explicit, two volume tale of a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac from cinematic provocateur Lars von Trier (Antichrist). Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) recounts her sexual experiences as a young woman (Stacey Martin) while at the home of the man (Stellan Skarsgård) helping her recover from a brutal beating. Nymphomaniac: Volume II is in release separately.

On a cold winter evening, a bachelor finds Joe (Gainsbourg) beaten up in an alley. He brings her home to his flat where he cares for her and asks about her life. He listens, as Joe tells her multifaceted erotic story that begins in childhood and into the sexual experiences of her teens and young adult life.

The movie's graphic scenes were created using prosthetic genitals in some scenes, and body doubles and special effects in others. Explains producer Lousie Vesth: "We shot the actors pretending to have sex and then had the body doubles, who really did have sex, and in post we will digital impose the two. So above the waist it will be the star and the below the waist it will be the doubles."

Nymphomaniac has courted controversy not just for its content, but also for the antics of co-star Shia LaBeouf. At Berlin Film Festival, LeBeouf wore a paper bag on his head on the red carpet, then walked out of the press conference after quoting Eric Cantona.