Wim Wenders withdraws 1975 film from circulation featuring a topless 13-year-old Nastassja Kinski
Director Wim Wenders has withdrawn his 1975 movie, Wrong Move, from circulation.
The controversial film notably features a scene that depicts Nastassja Kinski, who was then aged just 13, topless. Kinski has long been trying to have the scene removed from Wrong Move.
Now, Wenders has acknowledged the error and issued an apology to Kinski, stating, “As the only person responsible at the time for Wrong Move who is still here, I recognise that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected back then.”
The German director continued, “For that, I apologise to you, Nastassja, unreservedly, no ifs and buts.”
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.”
Wenders’ decision to pull the film comes after Kinski told the German publication Sueddeutsche Zeitung last month about her attempts to withdraw the scene from the movie.
She told the daily newspaper, “That was my first film, he was my first director, and he didn’t protect me. Even though I didn’t know all that much at 13, I picked up on the fact that something wasn’t right.”
The Wim Wenders Foundation, which owns Wrong Move, said it will undertake a “broad dialogue” with German film institutions about what to do going forward with the film, insisting, “Only after that process has taken place, even if it takes considerable time, and once we have been able to present a mutually agreed solution, which will include Nastassja Kinski, will we make the film available again.”
Kinski has celebrated Wrong Move being removed from circulation. Her lawyer, Christian Schertz, told the AFP that the move was “welcomed”, even though it was “long overdue”.
“I also regret that it has only happened as result of public pressure,” Schertz added, before also stating, “We have to wait to see what (Wenders’s) offer of dialogue actually consists of.”
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