Tess

In the beginning, there is a careless statement. In the end, a life destroyed. When a pompous priest addresses drunkard Durbeyfield as »Sir John,« he sets in motion a chain of unfortunate events that turn the life of the latter's daughter Tess into martyrdom. »A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented« is the subtitle to Thomas Hardy's novel upon which the screenplay was based. And »pure« is how Tess remains, in the book as well as in Polanski's adaptation, even though she bears a child out of wedlock, and is ultimately driven to commit a murder. The film was Nastassja Kinski's international breakthrough, following the waves she had made in Germany with her appearance in REIFEZEUGNIS (FOR YOUR LOVE ONLY), an installment in the long-running TATORT series of made-for-television films.