Movies: Nico, 1988

(Drivebycuriosity) - Christa Päffgen had not much talent as a singer, but she became a rock star anyway - under the stage name Nico. She grew up in post-war Germany, her good looks gave a career as a model & she played in movies. After working with Rolling Stone Brian Jones, Bob Dylan, Paul Morrissey & Andy Warhol and singing with Warhol`s & Lou Reed´s "The Velvet Underground" she became a rock icon. Maybe the stars used the beautiful girl with the heavy German accent as a groupie or kept her as an exotic pet.

The Belgian/Italian biopic "Nico, 1988", which is now running in selected US cinema theaters,  shows the last year in the life of the former rock star. Then she was touring with an unloved band in Southern & Eastern Europe trying to take advantage of her fame (imdb). The image above shows Nico performing at Lampeter University - November 1985.

The actress Trine Dyrholm, who impersonates Nico, shows a clumsy woman, ruined by decades of heroin. The former idol is vulgar & unstable, she still cannot sing. But one scene, when she performs wild & totally stoned, shows why she became Nico. The film displays her struggling with her band, her professional commitments and her life. "Nico, 1988" is sometimes challenging to watch but an interesting psychological study.