The Guardian exclusively unveils the first chapter – titled The Compleat Angler – of the new film from Lars Von Trier

This December sees the premiere of Lars Von Trier's new film. The story of a self-diagnosed nymphomaniac (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg) who recounts her erotic experiences to the man (Stellan Skarsgård) who saves her after an assault, its plot is divided into eight chapters. Starting today, extracts from these chapters will be published in the countdown to release; the Guardian is the newspaper publishing the opening chapter – it will also appear on the official film site tomorrow, along with a first clip from the film.

Von Trier – who has refrained from public comment following the controversy at Cannes in the wake of his film, Melancholia – wants to introduce, through Nymphomaniac, a new film genre called digressionism.

Below is chapter one; subsequent chapters will be called Jerome, Mrs H, Delirium, The Little Organ School, The Eastern and Western Church (The Silent Duck), The Mirror and, finally, The Gun.

The film also features Shia LaBeouf, Willem Dafoe, Jamie Bell, Christian Slater and Uma Thurman.

Let us know what you think of this opening extract in the comments below.

CHAPTER ONE

The Compleat Angler



How does an ordinary bag of chocolate sweets become a symbol of sexual victory? As Joe and her experienced friend B embark on a train trip, they bet on how many men they can seduce on the ride. The grand prize is a delicious bag of chocolate sweets, and it soon becomes clear to Joe that in order to win, she needs to lure the prey into biting the hook like a skilled fisherman.