my more detailed review:
we begin with a tour of fly fishing, and fist fucking. actually, there's no fist fucking here, a lamentable exclusion. but we're thrown into an artistic whimsy that recalls von trier's most playful moments, perhaps most resembling the five obstructions, oddly. fibonacci, edgar allan poe, and a gorge of orgies to make you question the meaning of the phrase 'censored edition' add up to, well, something that underwhelmed me, to be honest. but that wasn't a movie - merely half a one. so i popped in the second, the darker part apparently, and it was: but it wasn't; it was, in fact, a redefinition of the first, placing joe's story in perspective with a series of speeches that served to clarify von trier's polemic objective. the ending, bait, hook and all, concluded what i see as a coherent statement regarding gender, sexuality and violence, something one mightn't expect given that this film is von trier playing a trick. apparently. well, it is. and it's philosophy. it's both. it's beautiful.