Nico, 1988

Nico actually isn’t the kind of superstar because of whom you should be forcing your kids to think about the music of yesteryear. She was a sort of a diva who was popular with the greatest artists of the time. I guess she could mesmerize them, maybe even impress them. Hard to say. This movie definitely couldn’t answer that for me. Trine Dyrholm tried really hard, but I haven’t seen such a botched biopic in a really long time. It’s dull, boring, has no message and keeps skipping from one timeline to another without making any logical sense at all. (2018.11.24)

In the director’s own words, actress Trine Dyrholm doesn’t look like Nico, doesn’t sing like Nico and is even not of the same nationality as Nico, however she is still the best option for this role. Hard to disagree with that. Her incarnation of the character is just excellent, and she drives the film with great enthusiasm. Other than that, Nico, 1988 is a rather conventional biograpic about Warhol’s muse’s last years of life. The scene with her concert in Prague is one of the film’s highlights. [KVIFF 2018] (2018.07.01)

Well, this was definitely a weird film. I'll admit I'd never heard of Christa Päffgen before. I was expecting to find out more about her in this film, which didn't quite happen. I can't say that I’m still blissfully ignorant, but I'd rather not go into writing her biography. There are way too many blank spaces. Granted, the film does focus on the final stage of the singer's life, and the occasional flashbacks are surprisingly informative, but I still think she deserved a more comprehensive biopic. As I’m writing this solely based on what I've just found out about her life through this film, it obviously wasn’t disappointing; it rather piqued my curiosity and deserves three stars for that. The performance of Trine Dyrholm in the title role was superb. / Lesson learned: Say no to drugs. (2022.10.18)