Nico, 1988

Writer/Director Susanna Nicchiarelli’s Nico, 1988 is a drab and depressing depiction of the two years leading to the death of Christa Päffgen a.k.a. Nico (Trine Dyrholm), an Underground Velvet singer from the ‘60s, who never established significant fame for her own work. 

Living off the past and copious amounts of drugs, the film follows her tour of Eastern Europe.

If you’re not familiar with this person, as I wasn’t, it’s very hard to build sympathy for her treatment of her motley group, not to mention her fans.  It’s only late in the film that she starts to draw some sympathy.

Director Nicchiarelli and Cinematographer Crystel Fournier need to get coverage of things spoken of, but not fully shown to the audience, so as not to come off as amateurs.

I give Nico, 1988 a 2.8 out of 5.