Yo, Cristina F

I recently saw the original version of this film. Although i dont speak fluent german i found it easy enough to understand the plot through the amazing actors. Its not a story that gives away the end before its time. I reccomend it to anyone of any age but be warned there are some graphic scenes which may upset some people. It has totaly put in perspective of drugs and the real nasty and harsh side. This film is not seen through rose coloured glasses. It is a true story and allows us to have a deeper insight into the desperation of addicts and the lengths and detriments they go to for the amzing feeling.

I really wasn't prepared for this film, or was I? I had been recommended it, and told it was disturbing, but it certainly had a massive effect on me.

Christiane F is the true story of a girl who gets seduced by the German nightlife and David Bowie, and slowly drifts onto heroin.

There are several disturbing parts of this movie. The heroin/prostitution scenes are disturbing, but I didn't get disturbed by these as much as I did the story. The media would have us believe that heroin users and dealers are monsters and don't have a right to live. The people in this movie are real, and easy to identify with.

I definitely recommend this movie, and compared to Trainspotting (a film I also enjoyed) is much more realistic.

If you search for a document telling you the truth about falling into drug addiction in the 70s, this is the right film for you. But this is not a mere documentary; it's got artistic value, as well as great acting by the young and cute Nadja Brunckhorst and Thomas Haupstein. The scene where Christiane, after her first heroin sniffing, gets through a long gallery in a car with her friends is a wonderful metaphore of her first step into addiction. Great locations and a beautiful, functional photography complete this very good film, which represents an isolated case in director Ulrich Edels's career.

This powerful and shocking movie is an adaption from the bestselling book based on the true story of Christiane F. Having lived in Berlin until the mid 80's and being the same age as Christiane F. I can only stress the authencity of both book and movie. Berlin was a dark and depressing city at the time, yet a true metropolis with all its problems. You didn't have to be part of the "drug scene" to notice it everywhere in the downtown and surrounding area. Strung out junkies hitting you up for money in subway stations, streetwalkers, prostitutes at the Bahnhof Zoo ... the magazine article, followed by the book and movie just kind of brought it out in the open and documented the problem. The movie is still relevant 20 years later, one just have to put it a bit in perspective.

The soundtrack with David Bowie's music (newly rereleased on CD) is powerful and fits the overall mood perfect. Note: Christiane F. continued to struggle with her drug addiction until 1996 when she had her son. She lives in Berlin.

For a long time I had misgivings about this film. I thought that it would be like so many others, where a teenager enters in the world of drugs, lives through hell and, in the end, returns safely to the womb of family and society - in-between we are treated with edifying speeches delivered by mothers and/or fathers, with rights to tears and lots of sentimentality.

This is not the case of "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo". The film is direct and honest and shows the events as viewed by the children from Bahnhof Zoo. The film tries to show things as they are and be objective. No moralist speeches are given. That's why the film has such power. The first film scenes show Berlin in the night. The main attraction for Christiane and friends is the discotheque Sound. It all begins there.

There are many night scenes in the film. The days look dark and gloomy. In the beginning their meeting place is Sound, but as the road becomes narrower, there remains only one place for them: The Bahnhof Zoo. Days and nights seem to merge more and more. And the day resembles more and more the night. A long night, a short step can lead to eternal night.

This stuff almost begs to be treated in a sensationalistic way. But "Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo" is a serious film. It deserves to be seen.