A teen girl in 1970's Berlin becomes addicted to heroin. Everything in her life slowly begins to distort and disappear as she befriends a small crew of junkies and falls in love with a drug-abusing male prostitute.
When someone brings up drug movies, it’s standard to think of typical American dramas like Requiem for a Dream, Spun or even the modern Euphoria -- movies and tv shows that were pivotal in their raw portrayal of drug usage. Media centring around addiction are no joke, and they tend to stick with you - in both sadness and relief, somehow. Sadness for what you witness and relief in that you can walk away and forget once the credits roll.
Christiane F. is an older German-language movie in a similar vein but centred around teenagers in Berlin in the 70s and carries an air that makes it feel more authentic as it shows the journey where it starts for a lot of addicts: adolescence. There’s sweet naivety and innocence that’s weaved in throughout the movie, specifically around the 13 year old titular character. Seeing her put bold makeup on in an effort to look older to go out to interesting concert venues resonated deeply with me - even more so when she met a boy and fell in love instantly, and would readily follow him into the sun if she needed to.
In the beginning you’re introduced to a bold but unsure girl navigating the world of West Berlin. In particular, it shows peer pressure in a distinct and unique way. Rather than displaying it as something overt and almost comical as you see in tv PSA’s, it shows it as it really is: something internal and stemming from a feeling of wanting to belong. It doesn’t come through the shame others' project onto you, but rather it's feeling left out and needing to fit in to find your ‘tribe’.
It’s a coming of age story that isn’t coming of age at all, as you’ll find most of the characters do not (is that a spoiler? I think you should expect that). It’s authentic in the way it stares you in the face with its brutality and demands you to watch. It is unrelenting until the very end where you really and truly feel the same hopelessness, and feel utterly helpless to do anything but watch.
One important disclaimer: as it was the 80s, the actors portraying these characters are similar in age. This movie surrounds teens and tweens using drugs, having sex and prostituting themselves. European cinema has always been a little more risky (one could even say exploitative, but perhaps that's too hot of a take) than what we're used to as a North American audience. It's deeply uncomfortable to watch the scenes with sexual content. I cannot stress that enough. Please take note of this before you decide to watch it.
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