Wim Wenders Withdraws 1975 Film Over Controversial Scene

German filmmaker Wim Wenders has decided to pull his 1975 movie “The Wrong Move” due to a nude scene involving a then-13-year-old Nastassja Kinski. Kinski, now 65, has expressed a need for the film to be reedited. Last month, she conveyed her concerns to the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung, stating, “That was my first film, he was my first director, and he didn’t protect me.”

Wenders, known for his acclaimed films such as “Paris, Texas” and “Wings of Desire,” issued an apology to Kinski. “I recognize that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected back then,” Wenders stated. “For that, I apologize to you, Nastassja, unreservedly.”

“The Wrong Move” was Kinski’s film debut. In the movie, she plays a mute teen acrobat and appears topless in a scene. The film stars Rüdiger Vogler as an aspiring writer traveling through Germany. Wenders announced he is “withdrawing it from all current forms of distribution and exhibition,” including streaming services and broadcast television. The Wim Wenders Foundation, which owns the film, will ensure it remains unavailable until a solution is achieved.

Wenders emphasized the importance of a “broad dialogue,” including Kinski, the German Film Academy, and other film industry groups to resolve the issue. “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,” he added.

At the recent German Film Awards, Wenders addressed the complexities surrounding the film. He highlighted that retroactively editing such content “sets a precedent that affects you all, and then it becomes possible with all your films later on.”

Kinski, who later featured in Wenders’ 1984 film “Paris, Texas,” has shared her discomforts with her early film career. In her interviews, she often mentioned her struggles with appearing nude at young ages in films like “To the Devil a Daughter” and “Stay As You Are.” In a 1997 interview with W Magazine, she reflected, “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.”