Rating: 
Summary: THIS FILM IS A MUST!
Review: ...as any good movie that explores the world of drug addiction should be. Quite graphic in its depiction of the consequences of drug addiction, and the heartbreaking, and seemingly unbreakable, bonds involved. Just when you think someone is about to break free, they get sucked back in. Very sad, and frustrating.About as searingly graphic, if not more, as "Requiem for a Dream", another excellent movie that should convince anyone who watches it to avoid the scourge that is drugs. Another movie you wouldn't want to watch too frequently, due to its gruesome honesty and the fact that the images are burned into your brain. Excellent soundtrack from David Bowie, including live concert footage. Most of the songs are from his "Heroes" album, which was written and recorded in West Berlin, and conveys the feelings that living in West Berlin evoked in Bowie. Ideal soundtrack then for Christiane F, being set in West Berlin.
Rating: 
Summary: Harrowing ordeal
Review: ...as any good movie that explores the world of drug addiction should be. Quite graphic in its depiction of the consequences of drug addiction, and the heartbreaking, and seemingly unbreakable, bonds involved. Just when you think someone is about to break free, they get sucked back in. Very sad, and frustrating. About as searingly graphic, if not more, as "Requiem for a Dream", another excellent movie that should convince anyone who watches it to avoid the scourge that is drugs. Another movie you wouldn't want to watch too frequently, due to its gruesome honesty and the fact that the images are burned into your brain. Excellent soundtrack from David Bowie, including live concert footage. Most of the songs are from his "Heroes" album, which was written and recorded in West Berlin, and conveys the feelings that living in West Berlin evoked in Bowie. Ideal soundtrack then for Christiane F, being set in West Berlin.
Rating:
Summary: Berlin Underworld
Review: A tale about heroin abuse and prostitution amongst teens in Berlin, featuring snippets of Bowie in concert. Unfortunately I read the book first, and the movie disappointed, since there's very little of the character development and large parts of the plot were cut. It's probably a valuable historical document and ties in with Bowie's Germanic angst as found on his 70s albums "Low" and "Heroes."
Rating:
Summary: Could be a LOT better
Review: As someone else said, this is a wonderful movie but there aren't any subtitles. The english dubbing is ok, but the voices don't really go with the actors appearance and how you'd think they would sound. The movie is supppose to be a realistic look at drug use and how some teenagers live. The Bowie music goes great with the atmosphere of the movie. I would like to be able to hear the actor's own voices and read in english though and I hope they release another version with subtitles.
Rating:
Summary: Finally available after all these years
Review: Christiane F was a film I first saw many years ago because I was a big fan of David Bowie and I knew of the concert footage contained in the movie. But what a surprise when the movie upstaged everything else. Christiane F. is one horrifying film because it not only explores the drug and prostitution culture of Berlin's Zoo Station but it relentlessly takes you along for the ride. It is the story of a seemingly average young girl (around 14 years old) who battles the turmoil of a recently broken home. Before long her escapism into music and the night scene turns, slowly but surely, into heroin addiction and, naturally, prostitution to feed her endless craving. Some films grow milder by current standards but not this one. Before it is over you will have witnessed depravity and desparation beyond one's normal scope: spiking over filthy toilets, lots of vomiting, death caused by "hot" dosages, a young girl submitting to sado-masicism etc. The only drawback to this otherwise outstanding film is the English dubbing; the voices have an almost obnoxious Mid-Atlantic twang (no offense to all you East Coasters) and it diminishes a bit on the European flavor. Hopefully the DVD will have offer subtitles. The other thing is the Bowie concert footage (it covers his "Berlin Trilogy" music--"Low", "Heroes" and "Lodger") and it helpts to be a fan because it does absorb a lot of the film's beginning. However, if you can put aside these minor "flaws" it is a movie that should be watched.
Rating:
Summary: Christiane F. fabulous
Review: Christiane F. is one of the best films about the damaging effects of drugs. It's much better than Requiem for a Dream, which failed because of its preteniousness, although I loved the novel.
Christiane F. definitely deglamourizes the drug image, showing the character's standards lower throughout the picture. First the girl makes a point of saying she would never try drugs. Not only does she do so in a few days but the following year she is addicted to heroin. But I found it amusing that she went to prostitution before she went so low as to sell her David Bowie albums on the street. (Bowie is the Elvis of Glam Rock. His soundtrack definitely works with this movie.)
Yes the dubbing is awful but even the viewer forgets this after a while as you're caught up in the picture.
Rating:
Summary: Region 2 Subtitles definitely far superior
Review: Having seen the original film in the cinema at a vulnerable age, it put me off the drug scene permanently. This should be compulsory viewing for every 15 year old in the world today
Rating:
Summary: A Movie About Youth
Review: I agree with the previous reviewers that the stark, realistic depiction of drug use is a powerful aspect of Christiane F., but there is so much more that makes the movie outstanding. It brought tears to my eyes the first time I watched it because of the way it portrays a young person's search for love, for acceptance, to find meaning. To me this movie drives home the frailty as well as the value of life. More specifically, the movie works because it shows a variety of human emotions: Christiane's anger at her mother; her boredom in the grey concrete world of West-Berlin; her tender love for Detlef and pure desperation in the end. We really get a glimpse of her world and why she gets into drugs, even though everybody warns her about it. It's not simple peer pressure, but her own desparate need to belong and her compassion with Detlef that drives Christiane. Despite its length (130 min.) and the limited number of locations, the movie keeps you glued to the screen because it relies on competent, subtle acting rather than beating the viewer over the head with fake "dramatic" scenes. In contrast to most movies today, music is used rather sporadically, yet all the more effectively. My favorite scene is in the beginning when the youth gang runs through an empty mall, while we hear David Bowie's "Heroes" in full blast. I couldn't convey more effectively the sheer enthusiasm of being young and alive. Director Uli Edel (whose oevre includes other highs such as Last Exit to Brooklyn and lows as Body of Evidence; he also directed one Twin Peaks episode) effectively switches between fast and slow motion, dialog and image driven scenes. This is the perfect example of a well-paced movie. Even to those English speakers whose Highschool German has become rusty, this is well-worth the effort of finding it. Once you got the gist of the story in the dubbed version, listen to the sheer emotion in the original voices. Christiane F. is one of those rare movies that haunt you long after watching it.
Rating:
Summary: THIS FILM IS A MUST!
Review: I first saw and heard "Wir Kinderen Vom Banhof Zoo" when I was a child and I will never forget the impact it had on me. Beyond the obvious "Dare to Keep Kids Off Drugs" message, this film and music are a bittersweet snapshot of a tantilizing, tragic, and triumphant era gone by as captured so beautifully in Bowie's epic song "Heroes." Watching it now in a new millenium it still packs the same punch it did twenty years ago. Although it is unfortunate that a sub-titled edition has not yet been released, the original German language version is a must for anyone who ever lived on the edge and survived to tell about it. Regardless of what language you speak, you'll understand.
Rating: 
Summary: Powerful and Gripping! - Why No Subtitles?
Review: If you are interested in the substance abuse genre, this movie is the most realistic, powerful, and disturbing I've seen. Compare this to the likes of "Days of Wine and Roses", "The Man With the Golden Arm" and "28 Days", and the others all seem lame and glossed over. The only film that I thought came close to the level of realism of "Chrstiane F." was "Panic in Needle Park". This film takes you to the horrifying depths of heroin addiction, as excruciatingly experienced by a German teenager and her "friends". Based on a true story from the 1970's Berlin drug scene, the title character is from a dysfuntional family who eventually falls into the grips of heroin addiction and prostitution by age 14. Great soundtrack, with Bowie (I especially liked the version of Heroes that is sung partly in German), great depiction of the 70's club scene in Berlin, which was rampant with drug use. Even though in color, has the gritty feel of a noir. The film also captures dead-on the desperation of addiction, and how the addicts life becomes all about the next shot. The film also does a great job of conveying the depravity and desolation of the Berlin Zoo train station, a haven for prostitues and addicts at the time. Based on a book of the same name (unfortunately, last I checked, the book was out of print), the movie of course does not go into as much detail (what movie based on a book does?) but nonetheless, this is a brutal, accurate portrait of the ravages of drug use. Two things, if you can find the book, buy it. The book was riveting and goes into much greater depth of the girls family background, and her early drug use pre-heroin addiction. Also the movie condenses her many "cold turkey" episodes into one or two instances, and the true horror of her withdrawals are much more graphic and real in the book. Secondly, I would have given this 5 stars if the movie were subtitled instead of dubbed. It takes a lot away from the film, and I would recommend waiting until it is released (hopefully) in German with subtitles. I was fortunate enough to have seen the film in the theatre in German with subtitles, and it made a big difference. A classic movie of this genre, a must see, even with the dubbing!
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