The culture war has a new front. Wim Wenders, the German auteur, has withdrawn his 1975 film 'The Wrong Move' from circulation. The reason? A scene featuring a topless 14-year-old actress.
Westminster is, of course, obsessed with grey areas. But this is a move that speaks to a shifting landscape. Wenders is not being forced. No regulator has demanded it. He is acting pre-emptively.
Sources inside the film industry tell me this is a watershed moment. The calculation is simple. The reputational risk of keeping the film in the public domain now outweighs its artistic merit. Wenders, 78, is doing what many filmmakers of his generation are quietly contemplating. He is sanitising his own legacy.
The film itself is not his most famous. That would be 'Paris, Texas' or 'Wings of Desire'. But 'The Wrong Move' is part of a canon. It is based on a Goethe novella. To withdraw it is to admit that the artistic standards of the 1970s are no longer defensible.
But let's be clear. This is not just about film. This is about power. Who decides what is acceptable? The answer, increasingly, is the court of public opinion. And social media. The mob does not need a statute. It has the share button.
The irony is thick. Wenders is a left-wing artist. He made films about alienation and the post-war condition. Now he is bending to a conservative impulse. The removal of something that offends. It is a paradox that the yes-men in the lobby will not want to discuss.
But the real story is the precedent. If a director of Wenders' stature can pull his own work, what message does that send to archivists? To museums? To streaming platforms? They will be emboldened. The next demand could be for a film like 'The Night Porter'. Or 'Taxi Driver'. The age of the trigger warning is over. This is the age of the erasure.
I have spoken to a cultural policy adviser who says the government is watching closely. There is no appetite for legislation. But the culture secretary's office is taking notes. They know that the boundary is moving. And they are content to let the market decide.
Wenders' statement is carefully worded. He speaks of 'growing sensitivity'. He does not apologise. He does not condemn the past. He simply says the film 'no longer fits the times'. That is a diplomatic way to say: I am saving my reputation.
The opposition will smell blood. Expect a few backbench questions. Expect some think-tank pieces about censorship. But the public largely agrees with Wenders. A YouGov poll from last month showed 68% support for removing content that sexualises minors. The nuance is lost.
So this is not a story about a film. It is a story about the direction of travel. The old world of 'art for art's sake' is dying. The new world demands accountability. Wenders is just the latest to adjust his sails.
There will be more. Count on it. The next director to quietly withdraw a work is probably already drafting the press release. And the chattering classes will cheer. Or they will stay silent. Because silence is safer. And in this game, safety is everything.
Eleanor Rigby, Political Bureau Chief
