Wim Wenders Pulls 1975 Film The Wrong Move After Nastassja Kinski Nude Scene

German director Wim Wenders said he has pulled his 1975 film The Wrong Move from circulation after a nude scene featuring a then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski.

“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”

BBC

Wenders issued a statement on Instagram apologising to Kinski, saying, “I recognise that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected back then,” and adding, “For that, I apologise to you, Nastassja, unreservedly, no ifs and buts.”

BBC

The Wim Wenders Foundation said the film will remain unavailable until a mutually agreed solution is found, and Wenders said he would seek “a broad dialogue” that includes Kinksi, the German Film Academy and other film groups.

The Guardian reported that “Streaming, TV and distribution partners have been instructed to no longer make the film publicly accessible,” while the BBC said Wenders would block future access to the film after Kinski’s appeals.

The film, which Wenders made with Kinski as a child actor, is described as featuring a topless scene with Kinski and a male co-star, and it is also linked to her later work with Wenders in Paris, Texas and Faraway, So Close!.

Kinski, now 65, told Süddeutsche Zeitung that “That was my first film, he was my first director and he didn’t protect me,” and she urged Wenders to reedit the film.

In response to her years-long campaign, Wenders said he understood Kinski’s “current perceptions and feelings,” and he told the German Film Awards audience that he would not film that scene in the same way now.

South China Morning Post

The BBC reported that Kinski’s lawyer told the AFP news agency the move was “long overdue,” and that Wenders said the film would be withdrawn from “all current forms of distribution and exhibition.”

The Irish Times said Wenders, at the German Film Awards, described his dilemma as “alone” and asked for a wider debate on the rights and wrongs of re-editing films after their initial release.

The Hollywood Reporter added that 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.

Wenders said he would withdraw the film from “all current forms of distribution and exhibition,” including streaming services and broadcast television, and he framed the next step as a “broad dialogue” involving German film institutions and groups.

“Wim Wenders pulls 1975 film over nude scene with then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski The acclaimed director apologised to the actress for not protecting her during the making of ‘The Wrong Move’ German filmmaker Wim Wenders on Wednesday said he has pulled his 1975 movie The Wrong Move over a nude scene featuring a then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski”

South China Morning Post

The BBC reported that Wenders said only after reaching “a mutually agreed solution, which will include Nastassja Kinski, will we make the film available again,” linking the decision to an ongoing process rather than an immediate edit.

The Hollywood Reporter described Kinski’s scene as sexualised and said it involved a male co-star who was in his early 30s, while also noting that Wenders stopped short of pledging to remove the scene.

In a separate context, the Irish Times said Wenders cited Steven Spielberg’s regret in re-editing E.T. for its 20th anniversary release, quoting Spielberg’s view that “No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are either voluntarily or being forced to peer through.”

The Guardian reported that Julius Feldmeier wrote in an open letter that “it’s your responsibility alone to set things right,” as German media criticism focused on whether Wenders should take personal responsibility for the film’s handling of the underage topless scene.