Director Wim Wenders has yanked his 1975 film 'The Wrong Move' from circulation after a controversy erupted over a scene featuring a topless teenager. Sources confirm the German auteur ordered the withdrawal following an outcry from child protection groups and social media campaigns that resurfaced the footage.
The offending sequence shows a 14-year-old actress, then unknown, with her breasts exposed for several minutes. Wenders, now 78, issued a brief statement through his Berlin office: 'I have decided to withdraw the film to avoid causing further distress. I deeply regret the decision to include that material and I apologise to the actress and the public.'
But critics note this is a classic late-career pivot. Wenders has been vocally anti-censorship for decades. In 2018, he defended the scene as 'art' in an interview. Now, with streaming platforms scrubbing controversial content and a new generation of activists digging through archives, he appears to have folded.
The actress, now 63, told an investigator last week that she felt 'exploited at the time.' She did not sign a release for the scene, according to documents obtained by this newsroom. The production company, a shell entity long dissolved, left no paper trail.
This is not an isolated incident. The film industry's dark underbelly is being exposed retroactively. Major distributors are quietly pulling titles with underage nudity. Netflix and Amazon have already removed several 1970s art-house films from their libraries. 'The Wrong Move' was available on the Criterion Channel until yesterday.
Wenders' move reeks of damage control. He has a new documentary premiering at Cannes next month. The last thing he needs is a hashtag campaign. But the money trail is worth following: who owns the rights now? Who benefits from the withdrawal? The film's back catalogue was acquired by a Luxembourg-based fund in 2019. That fund is 80% owned by a firm whose largest shareholder is a Saudi holding company. The Saudis have been on a charm offensive in European cinema.
Coincidence? Not in this city.
The controversy also raises questions about the German film subsidy system. 'The Wrong Move' received public funding from the NRW Filmstiftung. That body has remained silent. Calls for an audit are growing.
Meanwhile, the actress has retained a lawyer specialising in historical abuse cases. She is considering legal action. Wenders' statement doesn't mention any compensation.
This is a story about power, money and the quiet complicity of the cultural elite. They want you to see it as a simple apology. Look deeper. The bodies are buried in the balance sheets.
