What is Roman Polanski's obsession engraved in "Tess"?

From “a girl who lost her child” to “a mother who reunites with her child”

In Nastassja Kinski, Roman Polanski discovered Tess, a ``tragic heroine toyed with by a strange fate.'' Because of her beauty, Tess is noticed by Alec (Lee Lawson) from the prestigious d'Urberville family, and she becomes pregnant. Tess loses her young baby to an illness and becomes Alec's mistress. And in order to be with her beloved Angel (Peter Firth), Tess kills Alec and is hanged. She is the only one who can play Tess in place of Sharon Tate!

Polanski sent her to Lee Strasberg's studio to thoroughly improve her English and accent, even though she was not very good at speaking and had little experience in acting.

"I was young and ignorant. My circumstances were unique, so that can be blamed."

"I am destined to be sacrificed."

The lines that Tess speaks in the movie sound like they were copied from Nastassja Kinski's real life. And Alec, seducing Tess, says the words that adults would have once whispered to Kinski.

"Be confident in your beauty... Show your beauty to the world before it fades."

"Tess" ©1979 PATHE PRODUCTION - TIMOTHY BURRILL PRODUCTIONS LIMITED

Nastassja Kinski has appeared nude in movies since she was a young girl, and has received numerous sexual advances from people involved in the film industry. However, appearing in this film made her realize that ``you don't have to take your clothes off,'' and she thanked Polanski in an interview for ``giving me dignity as a human being.'' There is.

However, if we ask whether Roman Polanski is truly a person ``full of human dignity,'' there will be a question mark. In 1977, he was arrested for having sex with a 13-year-old girl at Jack Nicholson's house. Before the verdict was handed down, he fled to France, which does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. Even though Tess is set in Dorset, England, it was filmed in France because there was a risk of being extradited to the United States if it entered the United Kingdom. Stonehenge, known as a world heritage site, appears in the film, but the art staff had to go out of their way to create an exact replica.) Polanski's ambivalent dual nature is both the perpetrator of rape and the victim of a brutal crime. Moreover, he was Nastassja Kinski's greatest protector.

Tess was released exactly 10 years after Sharon Tate's untimely death. Nastassja Kinski and Sharon Tate were born on the same day, January 24th. It may have been fate that this work was made starring her. With Polanski's guidance, Kinski opened the door to international stardom.

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Nastassja Kinski then starred in Wim Wenders' film `` Paris, Texas '' (1984). She plays Jane, who reunites with her husband Travis (Harry Dean Stanton) and their son who disappeared. I find it a strange coincidence that Nastassja Kinski, who once played a girl who loses her child, plays the role of a mother who reunites with her child. At the time of filming, she was four months pregnant. Nastassja Kinski became a mother, both on screen and in real life.

Text: Rui Takeshima

A pop culture writer who wants to be kicked by Hit Girl. Host of the web magazine "POP MASTER".

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“Tess” <4K remastered version>

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Publisher/distributor: King Records

©1979 PATHE PRODUCTION - TIMOTHY BURRILL PRODUCTIONS LIMITED