Update:

Flicking through the Cannes film programme, my eyes caught the title ‘Acque di Primavera’. My, I thought, sounds like a film Nastassja did (“Symphonia di Primavera” aka Spring Symphony). Hang on – starring Nastassja Kinski? Yes, on closer inspection, it’s from a story by the Russian author Turgenev and also stars Timothy Hutton and Valeria Golino. As I write this, I know nothing else about it at all. It was in the competition there, so keep an eye out for it.

Bibliography:

Surprisingly little has been written about Ms. Kinski in English – she’s always been a bigger star on the continent or in America and Japan than here. The main source for this series was a French book, “Nostalgia, hors serie no. 1” (above)which covers both Klaus and Nastassja. Of course there is the slight problem of it being in a foreign language. At least it’s in one I can read, unlike the Japanese book I possess which has a large number of very attractive photos and completely undecipherable text. Other books used include “Hollywood Lolitas” by Marianne Sinclair (see TC 0) and most biographies of Roman Polanski have a section about her. Magazines have been a fairly fruitful source of information, with Video World and the March ’86 issue of ‘Look Now’ being especially useful. According to a friend who wishes to remain anonymous, there was an article on her in the Nov. 88 issue of “Club International” – fifty quid in used notes will ensure that anonymous is how he remains…

Discography:

Conversely, I keep coming across songs with some connection in title and/or lyrics to her. Three definite hits and three possibles are

1. “Have a Cigar, Miss Kinski” – Extrabreit (from the LP “Europa”). Found in Vienna – “living in Los Angeles, millions flying for your kiss”.
2. “That’s not Nastassja” – Sparks (from the LP “Whomp that Sucker”). The problems of being an internationally recognised film starlet and being copied by everyone. “She was on the news again tonight/Someone looking like her stole a bike.” [below]
3. “Nasti Kinki” (sic) – Robby’s Hobby. Tedious disco/soul junk.
4. “Be a Boy” – Gina X (B-side of the single “No G.D.M.”). There is a reference to “Kinski’s nose” – given the title of the song, this might well be about Klaus! (Trivia time : Gina X’s real name is Gina Kikoine, not a million miles away from that of Gerard Kikoine who directed “Edge of Sanity” – no idea if there’s a connection!)
5. “Up on the Catwalk” – Simple Minds.
6. “Watching the Detectives” – Elvis Costello.

These last two have been claimed as having a mention of NK in the lyrics – I’ve not been able to track them down yet, they remain unconfirmed. There is also, apparently, a band in Norfolk called Passion Flower Hotel – can’t think what sort of music they’d play!

Quotes:

1. “You would be surprised by the power a girl of 13 or 14 can have over a man.”
2. “I go up and down all the time.” [!!]
3. “I’m fascinated by older men… and what they can teach me.”
4. On Polanski – “People had warned me about him and young girls, but he was always so nice to me.”
5. “I don’t understand acting, except when I’m actually doing it. And sometime I don’t even understand it then.”
6. “For a while, I wanted to be a ballerina and then later, for a long time, a vet.”
7. “I’m fanatical about privacy – I can understand why to be alone is one of the great gifts of life.”
8. On “To the Devil a Daughter” – “When I see the film, I’ll probably cover my eyes”
9. “It wouldn’t surprise me if I left the earth early because, even though I’ve lived so little, there are moments when I think I’m actually ready to go.”
10. On Dudley Moore – “I’ve never seen anybody who could be so flexible.” [!!]

3 products advertised at some point by Nastassja:

1. Lux soap.
2. Senso perfume.
3. Evian mineral water.

That story in “Sunday” magazine :

For those of you who missed it, the News of the World’s “Sunday” supplement recently carried a story (and I use the term advisedly) about Nastassja. In case you missed it, here are the captions, as printed, that went with the pictures:

1. Marriage on the rocks after 4 stormy years of possessive Ibrahim Moussa.
2. Her megarich husband’s millions can’t buy lonely Nastassja love, just booze.
3. She takes refuge in the bottle yet she just can’t hide the despair in her eyes.
4. An ex sex symbol, now frustration leaves her a far from pretty sight [!].
5. Then out of the blue Nastassja meets up with her original love, Roman Polanski.
6. That new kiss has stirred old memories, but, alone again, she hides her tears.

The pictures seem to me to say “Oh hell, here’s ANOTHER bloody photographer” just as much as they do “My marriage is on the rocks so I’m hitting the bottle”. As for the text, here’s an example : “Her beauty, super-sexy body and innocence were exploited in explicit scenes – but her life was a loveless sham”. Pulitzer-prize winning stuff. The rest of the article is composed of ‘quotes’, supposedly from ‘close friends’, where they’re attributed at all, and pure speculation. Of course, it COULD all be true – personally, I rate the “News of the World” about as highly as a political party broadcast as a source for the truth, the whole truth & nothing but the truth.

An Anecdote:

Nastassja Kinski was dining at an outdoor restaurant in New York, and doodling on the tabletop as she did so [don’t try this in your local Wimpey, kids!]. When she left, six diners got into a bidding war over it. In the end, a couple forked out 200 dollars for the table and headed for home lugging it between them.