Nymphomaniac: Volume I 2014

The film opens with a repetitive sound echoing in darkness, soon revealed to be machinery impacted by rain. After this disorienting setting, a still hand is discovered on the pavement. The soothing sounds of nature are abruptly replaced by the intense tones of heavy metal music. Inside a home, we find a man, Seligman, who dons a scarf before stepping out for a walk. He visits a tackle shop for bait and returns home, only to stumble upon an unconscious middle-aged woman, Joe, sprawled on the ground.

Upon awakening, Joe is found to be bloodied and battered. Seligman urges her to stay put while he calls an ambulance, but she insists against it, threatening to leave if he does. Instead, she requests a cup of tea with milk. He obliges, taking her to his home, where she sips tea and avoids his questions about her injuries. She acknowledges her situation, claiming she’s a bad human being and asserts that she doesn’t deserve sympathy. As their conversation unfolds, Seligman discusses fly-fishing, drawing an analogy between fishing techniques and her life.

Joe reflects on her past, beginning her story with Chapter One: The Complete Angler. She recounts her childhood, where she first discovered her sexual identity at a young age. The narrative reveals a time when she and her friend, B, found themselves exploring their bodies in a bathroom, only to be interrupted by B’s mother. Joe describes the contrasting love she felt for her father, a doctor, against her cold relationship with her mother. This backdrop sets the stage for her exploration of her needs and desires, pushing boundaries as she seeks deeper connections with others.

As the story progresses, Joe reveals her attempts to lose her virginity to a boy named Jerôme at fifteen. Confident yet vulnerable, she approaches him and initiates the encounter, describing the experience in painful detail. She reflects on the humiliation tied to their experience, marked by the symbolic numbers 3 and 5, which would hold lasting significance in her memory.

The narrative shifts to her teenage years, where she and B participate in a train trip adventure and make a bet involving sexual conquests. B shares strategic tips for engaging men, while Joe navigates interactions with a series of strangers aboard the train, using manipulation and charm to achieve her goals.

As Joe dives deeper into recounting her escapades, she realizes that her compelling desire to connect is complex and intertwined with her constant quest for pleasure. Seligman listens intently, drawing parallels between her stories and the world of angling.

Moving into Chapter Two: Jerôme, we see an adult Joe entangled in the complexities of her relationships. The audience witnesses her compelling yet chaotic experience with Jerôme, an ex-lover who becomes her boss. Not only does she grapple with lingering feelings, but she also projects her frustrations and desires onto their shared moments, highlighting the tension between love and lust.

The next chapters unfold, charting Joe’s journey through various relationships and her attempt to juggle them. Each chapter reveals new layers to her past, her search for love, and the emotional void she repeatedly attempts to fill through fleeting encounters. Joe’s narrative is one dense with raw honesty, humor, and sorrow, showcasing the profound impact that intimacy and rejection can have on a person.

Ultimately, Joe’s story encapsulates a universal struggle: the pursuit of connection within a world saturated with conflicting desires and emotional turmoil. As she navigates her past, confronting the choices she made, she shares with Seligman what it truly means to live in pursuit of both pleasure and meaning, while constantly battling her own sense of identity.

“I can’t feel anything.” The film captures Joe unraveling, navigating a landscape where every encounter seems both liberating and ensnaring—a poignant reflection of the diverse dimensions of human relationships.