Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981)
Genre: Biography / Drama
Duration: 131 minuten
Alternative title: Christiane F.
Country:
West Germany
Directed by: Uli Edel
Stars: Natja Brunckhorst, Thomas Haustein and David Bowie
IMDb score:
7,5 (35.208)
Releasedate: 2 April 1981
This movie is not available on US streaming services.
Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo plot
"The image of a generation."
Shocking portrait of the Berlin drug scene, late 1970s. 14-year-old Christiane meets the addict Detlev in the hip discotheque Sound, and slowly becomes addicted to heroin. Based on the diary confessions of the real Christiane F. With music (and performance) by Bowie.
Actors and actresses
Christiane
Detlev
Axel
Leiche (as Rainer Wölk)
David Bowie
Alter Fixer
Puppi
Rolf
Klaus
Bernd
Reviews & comments
tbouwh
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- 5839 messages
- 5436 votes
I don't think I ever think of Trainspotting again when I think of drugs - this raw and hyper-realistic portrait of misery and decay hit me hard, partly due to the ruthless imagery and the powerful 'acting performances'. Please put in quotes, because many young people from the film (and the extras - mostly real junkies/addicts - completely) had their first and only role here. It's never really about that there is so crazy playing; before I constantly believed that I was here watching real young people, who completely destroy themselves in a very expressive setting (Berlin for 89). With Natja Brunckhorst I sometimes even got the idea that somewhere halfway through the recordings she had literally been given five overdoses.
There are no words for many scenes in this film, but the most telling shot:
A train enters a tunnel - a normally meaningless signal board tells us all we need to know.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
-
- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
Requiem for a Dream (2000), The Basketball Diaries ( 1995), Trainspotting (1996), Enter the Void (2009) ... to name just a few, all are very strong films about drug use and the consequences of addiction and withdrawal symptoms. This extremely powerful confrontational Christiane F. also fits effortlessly into this list and perhaps even surpasses these aforementioned films.
Christiane F. based on the diary of gives a penetrating look into the drug environment of a number of young people in the Berlin streets of the 1980s. Specifically, one takes a look at a very young audience that is transformed from a talented youngster to a declining one. junk. Where it first starts with pills for Christiane, things quickly go wrong when she switches to injecting. Despite the fact that the film is 38 years old and the images are not always sharp, it is just a strength that emphasizes the desolation. The atmosphere setting is gray and futureless. Nice camera work, too, where the shots are burned onto your retina.
Christiane's metamorphosis from a beautiful young girl aged 13-14 to an experienced junkie is staggering. In order to get extra cash, she goes for a walk in the footsteps of her boyfriend. Physically and mentally they fall into a pile of misery. Very strong and convincing acting performance by Natja Brunckhorst. It's also nice that David Bowie appears in the film during a live concert and that his music can be heard throughout the film.
A topper!
Translated from Dutch · View original
pjmj
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- 311 messages
- 288 votes
Incredibly sad and moving to see such a child go to hell due to the use of hard drugs in a (very well rendered) depressing atmosphere full of shit and misery. Footage from a David Bowie performance was great to watch and fitted in very well with the film.
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