Wim Wenders is a legendary film director who has directed movies such as The Fear of the Goalkeeper at the Penalty Kick, The State of Things, or Paris, Texas; films adored by a certain sector of cinephilia. But at 80 years old, it seems that controversy follows him. He has been forced to withdraw one of his films, made more than 50 years ago, from streaming for a very good reason: it contains child nudity.
A nude that should not have happened
The withdrawal comes in response to the request of Natassja Kinski, the actress who appeared nude, asking for the scene from the movie to be removed. This particular scene was one in which she appeared topless in Alice in the Cities, a 1975 film, when she was barely 13 years old. This is the reason why the actress deemed it inappropriate for it to continue being shown.
In Kinski’s words, “although I didn’t know much at 13, I could already say that it wasn’t right. It was my first movie, it was my first director, and he didn’t protect me”. To which Wenders responded on Instagram saying “as the only person responsible then for ‘Falsche Bewegung’ who is still here, I acknowledge that Natassja Kinski should have been better protected back then. I apologize, Natassja, unreservedly, with no ifs or buts,” making the decision to withdraw the film from circulation.
This is a relative success. To begin with, Kinski asked for the scene to be cut, not for the film to be withdrawn entirely, and besides, the actress had been asking for it to be removed for years, which the director and the rest of those involved have ignored until now. But they have finally heeded her wishes, and with this triumph, we hope Kinski can celebrate it.
