German director Wim Wenders has withdrawn his 1975 film Wrong Move from circulation because of a scene featuring actress Nastassja Kinski when she was 13 years old, topless.
The decision came after the actress, now 65, said a month ago that she had spent 15 years unsuccessfully trying to persuade Wenders to edit the film and remove the scene.
Speaking at the German Film Awards ceremony last Friday, Wenders said that although he would not shoot the scene the same way today, Wrong Move was also a product of its era and that altering it retrospectively would require a broader discussion within the film industry.
Kinski had previously succeeded in restricting the distribution of a television film by Wolfgang Petersen in which she appeared nude at the age of 15.
His comments drew criticism in the German media, with fellow director and Babylon Berlin actor Julius Feldmeier writing in an open letter to Wenders that “it is solely your responsibility to correct the situation.”
When announcing the withdrawal of the film, Wenders apologized to Kinski.
“As the only person who was responsible for Wrong Move and is still alive today, I acknowledge that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected at the time,” Wenders said.
Source: Guardian
