As a long time von Trier fan, I believe it's pretty obvious he made this film primarily for himself, and secondly for the dogmatic fans of his own work. Sure, on the surface it is a sort of a black psychological (divine, *wink, wink*) comedy, as some of his previous films can, as well, be seen. However, there is a layer beyond the physical, even more so the psychological aspect of what is portrayed.
I'll assume anyone reading this has already seen the film so I'm putting spoilers on.
It is my firm belief that the entire film is a metaphor for stages of life of an artist or at least a creator in some sense. As good and realistic, if you will, as the portrayal of the mental states Jack is in, what is beyond his actions is the most fascinating part. Jack often refers to his work as art, and incidentally, the "incidents" represent the stages of an artists creative mentality, the way von Trier saw and perhaps experienced. It starts with, in the context of the chapters in the film: 1.Impulsive creation, art in the moment, that one breath of inspiration that sets an artist on his path. 2. Seeking perfection, obsessing over every possible detail, trying to achieve the ultimate form of art. 3. Transgressive and controversial art, imagery designed to shock the audiences, that I believe also self-referential. 4. Love and hate of one's own work, reaching a climax of creativity, at the point of giving up and exposing ones self. 5. Burning out, making art just to get a new high, experimenting just for the sake of it and finding no new joy in this process.
Throughout the film, at one point, we get a flash of most of von Triers past work, ranging from The element of crime (1984), towards Nymphomaniac (2013), which I believe closes up his ode to himself and his life's work, showing that narcissistic side again, with a possible message of the end of his artistic endeavors, but also pride in himself as an artist and his career -and possibly a large "f you" to the Cannes Film Festival, represented by the house he finally manages to build, with the "body" of his work, while also being a word play on the nursery rhyme. The epilogue is a very comical, almost cartoonish parody of the Divine Comedy, in which Jack (von Trier) is Dante, in which he shows emotion for the first time in a Citizen-Kane-like moment, but instead of his happy ending he falls into the deepest part of hell, possibly referring to von Trier's own mental state.
I'll assume anyone reading this has already seen the film so I'm putting spoilers on.
It is my firm belief that the entire film is a metaphor for stages of life of an artist or at least a creator in some sense. As good and realistic, if you will, as the portrayal of the mental states Jack is in, what is beyond his actions is the most fascinating part. Jack often refers to his work as art, and incidentally, the "incidents" represent the stages of an artists creative mentality, the way von Trier saw and perhaps experienced. It starts with, in the context of the chapters in the film: 1.Impulsive creation, art in the moment, that one breath of inspiration that sets an artist on his path. 2. Seeking perfection, obsessing over every possible detail, trying to achieve the ultimate form of art. 3. Transgressive and controversial art, imagery designed to shock the audiences, that I believe also self-referential. 4. Love and hate of one's own work, reaching a climax of creativity, at the point of giving up and exposing ones self. 5. Burning out, making art just to get a new high, experimenting just for the sake of it and finding no new joy in this process.
Throughout the film, at one point, we get a flash of most of von Triers past work, ranging from The element of crime (1984), towards Nymphomaniac (2013), which I believe closes up his ode to himself and his life's work, showing that narcissistic side again, with a possible message of the end of his artistic endeavors, but also pride in himself as an artist and his career -and possibly a large "f you" to the Cannes Film Festival, represented by the house he finally manages to build, with the "body" of his work, while also being a word play on the nursery rhyme. The epilogue is a very comical, almost cartoonish parody of the Divine Comedy, in which Jack (von Trier) is Dante, in which he shows emotion for the first time in a Citizen-Kane-like moment, but instead of his happy ending he falls into the deepest part of hell, possibly referring to von Trier's own mental state.