Wenders retire "Falsche Bewegung" and apologizes to Kinski

This followed a speech Wenders gave on May 29, 2026, at the German Film Awards ceremony in Berlin. The director, who received the Honorary Award for his lifetime achievement that evening, addressed the controversial scene himself. "I would never do that again today. I know more today, much more. There are different sensitivities. We live in a completely different world than 50 years ago," he said. He also asked the audience and the German Film Academy: "How do we deal with film heritage?" and "Is it permissible, can one, should one perhaps cut a scene if, in this case, it hurts one of my actresses, whom I have greatly admired and still admire?"

The scene in question is about two minutes long. Nastassja Kinski, who made her debut in the film, was 13 years old at the time of filming and plays a mute young artist. In the sequence, the character played by Rüdiger Vogler, who was over 30 at the time, visits Kinski's character in her room, undresses to his underwear, and lies down next to her. In the shot, Kinski is wearing only underwear or has her upper body exposed.

Kinski's Recollection of the Filming

According to her lawyers, Kinski had asked the director for years to remove the passage. In an interview with the "Süddeutsche Zeitung," she recently described her memory of the filming: "Although I didn't know much at 13, I already realized that it wasn't right." In an English-language passage, she also said: "That was my first film, he was my first director and he didn't protect me." On Instagram, the actress wrote that she had remained "long, long quiet, patient" and had hoped for a "just dialogue with my director Wim Wenders" – but he had not taken her seriously.

Wenders initially indirectly rejected the accusation that he had refused personal conversations for years, but then apologized in clear terms. In a later statement, he said: "As the only one responsible for 'Falsche Bewegung' at the time who is still here, I see that Nastassja Kinski should have been better protected back then. For that, I ask for your forgiveness, Nastassja, without ifs or buts."

Reactions from the Industry

Kinski's lawyer, Christian Schertz, welcomed the apology but called it "long overdue" and criticized that it only came about "as a result of public pressure." Schertz also announced that further steps would be taken if Wenders did not engage in a genuine dialogue. "Furthermore, one must of course wait and see what the offer of dialogue specifically entails," Schertz said.

Reactions from the film industry and the press were mixed. Feminist Alice Schwarzer (83) had directly urged Wenders in her magazine "Emma": "Wim: Stop talking – and act! Finally cut those damn two minutes out of your film!" Actress Rosalie Thomass called the gala speech "shameful." Karoline Herfurth stated that she would have wished for Wenders to publicly admit that he had not adequately protected a 13-year-old child. Clemens Schick criticized that Wenders had elevated the debate to an abstract level of censorship and film heritage instead of taking responsibility. Lavinia Wilson, on the other hand, welcomed the fact that the issue was being publicly discussed and called for a thorough debate.

Film critics also weighed in. FAZ commentator Michael Hanfeld wrote: "This is not about freedom of art and opinion, nor about film heritage. This is about the fact that a thirteen-year-old child is sexualized and dragged naked in front of the camera. That was wrong in 1974, and it would be wrong today." Claudia Tieschky commented in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" that Wenders had "retreated from his real responsibility into an imagined victimhood" with his contemplative director persona. Film scholar Annette Brauerhoch, while praising the film's withdrawal on Deutschlandfunk Kultur, simultaneously accused Wenders of distributing responsibility from himself onto thousands by appealing to the academy and the audience: "That was orchestrated very cleverly."

Wenders' Self-Defense

Wenders himself partially rejected the criticism that he wanted to evade responsibility. He said he could not blame his past self; he had made a film "in its time." At the same time, he admitted: "The many reactions, suggestions, and conversations of the past few days have significantly helped to further sharpen my view of the events at the time. For that, I am grateful." He advocated for a "broad exchange on how to deal with controversial film works from the 20th century."

The co-presidents of the German Film Academy, Vicky Krieps and Florian Gallenberger, announced that they intend to address the issues raised in a joint and differentiated manner. The Academy sees itself confronted with legal, ethical, artistic, and cultural dimensions equally. The issue will be discussed in appropriate formats, they stated.

Comparison with Other Films

The case is part of a series of debates about how to deal with films from previous decades that depicted minors in sexualized contexts. Maria Schneider, for example, said about the filming of Bernardo Bertolucci's "Last Tango in Paris" (1972): "I felt violated and, to be honest, a little raped, both by Marlon and by Bertolucci." Brooke Shields, who appeared nude on camera at 14 in "The Blue Lagoon" (1980) alongside the then 18-year-old Christopher Atkins, also later spoke of pressure on set. Olivia Hussey and Leonard Whiting, who were seen in a nude scene in Franco Zeffirelli's "Romeo and Juliet" in 1968 at the ages of 15 and 16, filed a $500 million lawsuit against Paramount in 2023; a court definitively dismissed the lawsuit in October 2024.

In Louis Malle's "Pretty Baby" (1978), the then 12-year-old Brooke Shields played a minor prostitute and appeared nude. In Germany, the then-youthful Kinski was also seen in the "Tatort" crime film "Reifezeugnis" in 1977, in a story about a student having an affair with her teacher. Wolfgang Petersen directed. As lawyer Schertz confirmed, a settlement was reached with NDR in this case, without details being disclosed.

Comparisons with other subsequent interventions in film classics were also drawn in the debate. Steven Spielberg altered "E.T." for its 20th anniversary in 2002 by replacing weapons with walkie-talkies, and stated in 2023 that it was a mistake: "No film should be changed because of the perspectives through which we view the world today, voluntarily or involuntarily." Disney had adjusted "Aladdin" (1992) and "Lilo & Stitch" (2002) for re-releases and for Disney+; George Lucas revised the original "Star Wars" trilogy for its 20th anniversary; Ridley Scott released a new cut of "Blade Runner" in 2007; Stanley Kubrick removed a scene from "The Shining" (1980) just a week after its theatrical release.

Outlook: What Happens to the Film?

Today, strict protection rules apply in Germany for productions involving minor actors. These include the presence of guardians on set, explicit parental consent, and the use of specially trained intimacy coordinators for sensitive scenes. Wenders himself advocated in his gala speech for applying these changed standards to older works – leaving open whether this should be done through cuts, contextualization, or other means.

Wenders and Kinski collaborated twice more after "Falsche Bewegung": on the road movie "Paris, Texas" (1984) and "In weiter Ferne, so nah!" (1993). Kinski, daughter of actor Klaus Kinski,