In the present, Seligman suggests how the circumstances of Joe's life might have been due to differences in gender representation; all of the stigma, guilt and shame she felt for her actions made her fight back aggressively "like a man", ultimately "forgetting" to rack the gun because her human worth would not allow her to kill someone, even Jerôme. Young Joe adds that the man had a present with him and the old Joe continues to philosophize how she might talk him into having sex with her. Je le répète encore mais Lars Van Tries est un grand artiste mais malheureusement, un artiste incompris car trop brut, trop cru…tout simplement trop encrée dans le réel. A seven-track soundtrack was released digitally by Zentropa on 27 June 2014, containing a mix of classical and modern rock music, along with two sound clips from the prologue of the film. Long before the movie was released it was already creating quite a few controversies, especially since Lars von Trier announced that he would create real sex scenes and even thought about releasing a Hardcore and a Softcore Version of the movie ( News).

Seligman is especially bothered about Joe using a naughty word for vagina when she speaks of herself as a child. Martin stated that her acting experience for the film was enjoyable and, after explaining that the film's characters are a reflection of the director himself, referred to the process as an "honour.The “long version” gave us a black-and-white sonogram image of a fetus, in utero, fondling what seemed like a jumbo fetal phallus. Joe's father asks her not to slander her mother, who is afraid of hospitals, for not being by his side, explaining they said their goodbyes. Director Lars Von Trier, as the passionate, creative film-maker that he is, once again overflows his self righteous, controversial views into his work, not worrying about how outrageous these may be. Both Joe (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and Seligman (Stellan Skarsgard) are the dual aspects of a single personality.

While she tells this story, we can hear Seligman from off-screen making some comparisons to fishing again. Seligman, a highly educated but cloistered man, connects and analyzes Joe's stories with what he has read about. Her father – who had previously proudly watched her – suddendly closes the book when she leaves the room.

We weren’t able to ask Von Trier, who vowed to never do his own press again after his 2011 Cannes fiasco and therefore sat out the conference. She's not a likeable character, which is the point - nobody with depression is - they become selfish and driven to destruction. On a cold winter’s evening the old, charming bachelor, Seligman (Stellan Skarsgård), finds Joe beaten up in an alley.