Director Wim Wenders withdraws 1975 film over actress’s teen topless scene
Oscar-nominated German director Wim Wenders has said he will block future access to his 1975 film Wrong Move after appeals from actress Nastassja Kinski, who was filmed topless when she was 13.
Last month, Kinski told a German newspaper she had been asking Wenders to change the film for years. “That was my first film, he was my first director and he didn’t protect me,” she told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
On Wednesday, Wenders said the actress “should have been better protected back then”, adding: “For that, I apologise to you, Nastassja, unreservedly, no ifs and buts.”
In response, her lawyer told the AFP news agency the move was “long overdue”.
In a statement published on Instagram, Wenders said the film would be withdrawn from “all current forms of distribution and exhibition”, meaning “streaming services, television broadcasters and distribution partners will be instructed to cease public access to the film”.
He added: “The many reactions, comments, and conversations of recent days have played a significant role in further sharpening my understanding of the events of that time.
“For that, I am grateful. Only an open and respectful exchange can lead us to reconsider positions and reassess responsibilities.
“It is necessary for our society to find appropriate ways of dealing with controversial film works from the 20th Century and to face new learning processes and inclusive perspectives regarding cinema.”
Wenders said he would seek a “broad dialogue” with film institutions and groups, and only after reaching “a mutually agreed solution, which will include Nastassja Kinski, will we make the film available again”.
Kinski’s lawyer told AFP he “welcomed” the decision, but added: “I also regret that it has only happened as result of public pressure.”
Wrong Move, for which Wenders won best director at the German Film Awards, included a sexualised scene with Kinski and a male co-star who was in his early 30s.
On Friday, Wenders received a lifetime achievement honour at the German Film Awards and used his speech to tell the audience he was “struggling” with whether to permanently cut the scene out of the film, asking the younger film-makers in the audience for help resolving the issue, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Kinski went on to also appear naked in 1976’s To the Devil a Daughter and 1978’s Stay As You Are.
Speaking about those early roles in 1997, she said: “If I had had somebody to protect me or if I had felt more secure about myself, I would not have accepted certain things. Nudity things. And inside it was just tearing me apart.”
Kinski went on to find international fame in films including Wenders’ 1984 cult hit Paris, Texas, and also appeared in his 1993 film Faraway, So Close.
