Nico, 1988 is more of a character piece than a fact-led biography, but it offers a fascinating study of a flawed yet uncompromising artist and her turbulent life.

| Original Score: 4/5 | May 2, 2024

[Features] a striking performance from Trine Dyrholm as the musical icon.

| Feb 13, 2024

A gloomy film about the power of art as a survival tactic.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 4, 2021

That's the psychological real estate Nico, 1988 inhabits as well. A portrait of alienation that's both heartbreaking and liberating, the film resists musician biopic tropes.

| Dec 8, 2020

...the film does eventually summon up some admiration for its surly, frumpy anti-heroine, in the last lap warming up enough to even render her rather likable.

| Oct 15, 2020

Even though Nico might not be familiar to modern audiences, the film Nico, 1988 makes a strong case as to why more people should know her story.

| Oct 8, 2020

If it sounds like a bleak journey, it is. But, it's one worth taking.

| Jul 24, 2020

It's difficult to make an engaging film about someone who seems to be miserable all the time, but Nico, 1988 comes pretty close to giving us a complete portrait of the songstress without covering her entire life.

| Jun 22, 2020

Writer-director Susanna Nicchiarelli pulls off her sendup with a cast of Euro celebrities.

| Jun 1, 2020

Not a particularly fun movie to watch, but it is indeed a fascinating one and, if nothing else, it should inspire most viewers, if they haven't already, to go back and revise the Nico discography for themselves.

| Feb 21, 2019

Nico, 1988 plays like the impressionistic indie feature you might expect it to be, given its esoteric subject matter, but its multi-faceted and realistic portrayal of the singer holds your attention.

| Jan 11, 2019

Over and over again, Nicchiarelli's film advocates for a recognition of Nico that goes beyond her stint as a singer for The Velvet Underground.

| Jan 8, 2019

Overall, this kind of compassionate dismantling of Nico the myth is done with insight, tenderness, and clear-eyed realism.

| Dec 26, 2018

For [fans], Nico, 1988 is like traveling back in time and seeing a god reincarnated.

| Original Score: 6.5/10 | Dec 22, 2018

Gone is the blonde hair, gone are the glamorous looks that got her into the modeling business in her younger years. Gone is Andy Warhol and the Velvet Underground. What remains? That is the question the film poses.

| Original Score: C | Dec 3, 2018

A haunting and deeply affecting examination of the German singer's final years.

| Original Score: 9/10 | Nov 27, 2018

It's rare for a rock 'n' roll biopic to be worthy of its subject, but Nico, 1988 is most certainly that.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Oct 29, 2018

The film takes us to shows in Paris, Prague, Nuremberg, Manchester, Poland and Italy and details her reconciliation with her son whom she introduced to heroin.

| Oct 2, 2018

Not to gush, swoon or go overboard, but I loved this film.

| Sep 21, 2018

Boosted by a searing, uncanny performance from Trine Dyrholm, "Nico, 1988" is a telling time capsule.

| Original Score: 7/10 | Sep 7, 2018