Review of Christiane F. (1981) by Nikki B — 10 Jan 2015
It's as subtle as being hit with a baseball bat for two hours while your assailant screams "Drugs are BAD" at you but Christiane F is an undeniably powerful film.
Natja Brunckhorst (just 14 or 15 when the film was made, and appearing several years younger) is outstanding as Christiane giving an astonishingly adult and intelligent performance that anchors the film and ensures that it's always riveting.
Also excellent is Thomas Haustein, who appears never to have made another film, something of a waste on this evidence.
The film gets a touch repetitive towards the end and stops dead early on when director Ulirich Edel (later to make Last Exit to Brooklyn and Body of Evidence) takes us to a David Bowie concert for five pointless minutes (and I say this as a great Bowie fan).
Unwaveringly unpleasent and shocking it may be but it's refreshing that the filmmakers choose not to sugarcoat the story at all and nothing that takes place within the film can match, for sheer shock value, the caption at the end that reveals it is a true story.
This review of Christiane F. (1981) was written by Nikki B on 10 Jan 2015.
Christiane F. has generally received very positive reviews.
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