15 Most Controversial Films Of The Decade (So Far)

14. Nymphomaniac

What's It About? Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) is found lying in an alleyway battered and bleeding by a kindly academic called Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard) who takes her back to his small apartment to help her recover. They talk at length about their lives and Joe reveals that she is a nymphomaniac, recounting to Seligman the various encounters throughout her life which have informed her addiction to sex. Why Was It Controversial? During promotional events star Stellan Skarsgard is reported saying, "The film is sexually explicit, but, believe me, it will be a very, very bad w**king movie." This is an apt summary of Nymphomaniac (which was released in two volumes) and gets to the heart of the controversy surrounding it. Von Trier is no stranger to controversy and here his exploration of a sex-addicted woman, complete with scenes of unsimulated sex, led to bannings and protests, particularly in Middle Eastern countries.