German filmmaker Wim Wenders has withdrawn his 1975 film 'The Wrong Move' from all distribution and exhibition following criticism over a nude scene featuring a then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski. The director, known for 'Paris, Texas' and 'Wings of Desire', issued an apology to Kinski, who is now 65.
In a statement, Wenders said: 'I recognise that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected back then. For that, I apologise to you, Nastassja, unreservedly, no ifs and buts.' The film, which marked Kinski's debut, includes a scene where she appears topless as a mute teen acrobat.
Kinski has urged Wenders to re-edit the film. Last month, she told the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung: 'That was my first film, he was my first director and he didn't protect me.' The film will remain unavailable until a mutually agreed solution is found, Wenders said, adding that he will seek a broad dialogue with Kinski, the German Film Academy and other film groups.
Wenders' nonprofit foundation owns the film. He stated: '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.' At the German Film Awards last week, he had expressed concern about retroactively editing the film, warning it could set a precedent for other works.
Kinski, daughter of actor Klaus Kinski, went on to star in Wenders' 1984 film 'Paris, Texas'. She has long spoken about her misgivings regarding her early career, telling W Magazine in 1997: '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.'
