NICO, 1988: Exclusive Interview with Writer-Director Susanna Nicchiarelli & Star Trine Dyrholm “The Wrestler of music biopics” is how I have been describing NICO, 1988: the insightful new film that explores the life of singer and actress Christa Päffgen, a.k.a Nico. The German-born artist was catapulted to stardom in the sixties, when she performed with American rock band The Velvet Underground. The drama NICO, 1988 (now playing in select theaters) is a character piece that centers on her last years, when she tried to deal with the consequences of the choices she made during her glory days. Recently, on separate occasions and via telephone, I had the pleasure of speaking with its talented Writer-Director Susanna Nicchiarelli, and the phenomenal Trine Dyrholm, who portrays the titular character. Trine Dyrholm in NICO, 1988. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. Sometimes, we reduce icons to caricatures, to make them fit into a box. You are trying to paint a very detailed portrait. How was the challenge of trying to capture a person, in the most honest way possible? Susanna Nicchiarelli: That’s exactly what I wanted to do. I am glad that you think that I succeeded. I wanted to tell a story that was out of the cliche. There is a sentence that Nico said, “I’ve been to the top, I’ve been to the bottom, and both places are empty.” I think that the movie is about the fact that life goes on in the middle, between the two extremes. I tried to concentrate on what -for me- was important about Nico’s life: her childhood in Germany, growing up in West Berlin destroyed by bombs, and the relationship with her son, which was her major pain and regret. But, also, she’s making her own art, writing her own music, something that started in 1968. In your research and preparation, what was the thing that helped you the most to portray the real life of this complex person? Trine Dyrholm: When I took the offer, the director said to me “You don’t look like Nico, you don’t sing like Nico, but I think that you have the right spirit to play the character. We should do our version of Nico.” It was very important not to do an imitation. Of course I did my research: I saw a documentary about her, I watched some interviews and concerts. One interview that I found very interesting was one where she said “I don’t regret anything, except being born as a woman instead of a man.” I took all of those things and put them together, but I didn’t stick too much to reality. We tried to create a character that it was true to the film and the story. It is also a universal film about a woman, a mother, an artist, and a person from the war generation. She was born in 1938 in Germany and died in 1988, before the Berlin Wall came down. She was very influenced by that. Trine Dyrholm in NICO, 1988. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. On top of having to engage the audience with a complex character that isn’t always engaged with life, you needed someone that could radiate the star power that she had. How important was it to find Trine Dyrholm? Susanna Nicchiarelli: The major challenge of portraying Nico is that she wasn’t a very likable person. With Trine, we decided that we were not going to force the audience into identifying with Nico right away. Sometimes, that is a problem with biopics, that you don’t easily identify with the rock star. It’s difficult to understand them, you see them as spoiled, or narcissistic. At the beginning, you see Nico through other people, like the band and her manager. It was a period when she was surrounded by ordinary people. We kept some distance with the camera, and in regards to the acting, Trine never went too sentimental. Nico was a very ironic, distant, and sometimes cold woman. We wanted to maintain that, especially at the beginning, and then we started to slowly bring the audience into a connection with her. I think it was the only way that we could do that. Every time that you sing as Nico, it feels like you are pouring your soul out. How did you feel, right after shooting those scenes? Was it therapeutic? Trine Dyrholm: The songs in the film are monologues, basically. Every song, is an emotional state of mind of the character. In that sense, you are right. It’s a liberation for the character. We tried to put a lot of emotion in each performance. I was a singer when I was a teenager. I was at the Eurovision contest when I was 14, and I toured with a band, so I could also use that background. I am glad that I found a role where I could combine both music and acting, because that’s what I love the most. It was such a gift! Thomas Trabacchi and Trine Dyrholm in NICO, 1988. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. In similar stories, we usually see a lot of conflict between the parent and the abandoned son, or daughter. But in this relationship, the only conflict is the one that Nico has with herself. How interesting was it to explore that? Susanna Nicchiarelli: Yes, that was one of the major experiences that I had when I met [the real life] Ari. There was no resentment. He wasn’t angry with Nico -in any way- for not being a good mother. I thought that it was so emotionally strong! He admired and defended her mother. He justified everything that she did by saying “She was a star.” That’s why I put that line in the movie, because he says that all the time. My feeling is that the love between them was very strong and unconditional. The song that Nico sings in the hotel, “Nature Boy,” is a song that she actually never sang. But I put it in the movie because it expresses their love, and the verse “The greatest thing you’ll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return” perfectly condenses the unconditional bond between a mother and her son. Even though Ari doesn’t appear much in the movie, he is the central issue in her life. Trine Dyrholm and Sandor Funtek in NICO, 1988. Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures. In the film, we see Nico with her personal audio recorder, trying to capture a feeling more than a sound. What is that thing that you are trying to capture in your everyday life, that inspires you as an artist? Trine Dyrholm: What’s important for me when I act is to create cracks in the character where you invite the audience into the inner chaos of the character; whatever they are struggling with. I think that we create art to share existential themes that we can’t talk about. Nico had an extreme life, but also a huge existential loneliness, and we all have that. She has so many contradictions, and I always look for those things that tell two stories at the same time: if you have a strong person, I ask “Where is she vulnerable?” I don’t believe in consistency. When you talk about inspiration, it is interesting because it can comes from unexpected places. You can talk to a person and suddenly you connect with something. It can be a painting, it can be music… But I am very interested in these existential themes that we are all sharing. Susanna Nicchiarelli: There is one thing that really impresses me, and influenced me a lot in making this movie. It’s the way history goes into people’s lives, into small, private lives. The way that it influences our lives through certain times. You know, the whole thing about Nico being German and coming from that major defeat, growing up during the war, and the way it shaped her character. I find very touching the fact that she died in 1988, one year before everything changed, in 1989. I am fascinated by that. To think that we are small beings, but in the big picture. I always try to connect the personal memories, with the universal memories. NICO, 1988 is now playing in select theaters. NICO, 1988 follows the singer-songwriter, approaching 50, leading a solitary existence in Manchester, far from her 60s glam days as a Warhol superstar and celebrated vocalist for cult band The Velvet Underground. Her life and career on the fringes, Nico’s new manager Richard convinces her to hit the road again and tour Europe to promote her latest album. Struggling with her demons and the consequences of a muddled life, she longs to rebuild a relationship with her son, whose custody she lost long ago. A brave and uncompromising musician, Nico’s story is the story of a rebirth: of an artist, a mother, and the woman behind the icon.