The last years and final performances of legendary singer Nico – who did not want to be remembered as Lou Reed’s femme fatale – are brought vividly to the screen by Danish actress Trine Dyrholm.
She’s not the cliché of the fragile woman… She knew what she wanted. She wanted to make her own music, and she did it.
Screened as part of NZIFF 2018
Nico, 1988 2017
“Approaching 50, singer-songwriter Nico leads a solitary, low-key existence in Manchester, far from her glam days in the 1960s as a Warhol superstar and celebrated vocalist for The Velvet Underground. Unconcerned about her career, Nico is urged on by her new manager to embark on a tour of Europe. Dependent on heroin, and usually in an unforgiving mood, Nico uses the tour to try to re-establish a connection with her son, from whom she’s long been separated. Nico is still a fearless and extraordinary performer, and the film captures both the missteps and the moments of glory. With what Variety describes as a ‘zombie-pitch-perfect’ performance by Dyrholm (who sings herself), Nico, 1988 is an uncompromising biopic of a singular figure in popular culture.” — Sydney Film Festival
“In exploring the German singer’s life after her 1960s fame had waned, writer/director Susanna Nicchiarelli and star Trine Dyrholm craft a late-career biopic that acts not only as a portrait of a complex figure, but recognises the considerable toll of daring not to conform… Aesthetically and emotionally immersive… the movie proves as accessible to newcomers as it is to seasoned fans.” — Sarah Ward, Screendaily