Did anyone else find this film overrated? I really had to force myself to watch the whole thing through. The main characters weren't the least bit likeable, the movie itself was way too long and repetitive and apart from David Bowie, the soundtrack was terrible (seriously, that piano.. ARGH!). Only good thing about this movie was the message.
Sorry for the hating, I'm maybe just too old (23) for this film.
The soundtrack is ALL David Bowie. The "piano" is also Bowie, off "Low".
shareToo old? I think you are too young for this film. Get back to it after 10 years.
Antiparanoia is the eerie feeling that nothing is connected to anything else
There is nothing about this film that is over rated.
I don't believe any one's life story can ever be judged as over rated.
As raw of a story as Christiane's, she just happened to be the one that
captured a lot of publicity, and her story is told here.
I think the actors did a great job too.
The innocence, purity, curiosity and desperateness they portrayed at such a young age should not be mistaken as amateur acting.
In my opinion there was nothing glamorous or not glamorous about this film, it just shows what is and was and are.
For its time it was extremely controversial - but in the millennium, not so much and probably why it seems "overrated" today. I'm 41 now, read the book and saw the bootleg film when I was about 16, so it was shocking at my young age and for its time. Translating some of the German mags we had about the film, we learned some of the "extras" filmed at the Zoo station were not actors at all, but real (pardon the term) "junkies," and the German gov't wasn't real happy about that - nor the initial newspaper expose' and book that eventually followed. Scenes of the young Christiane F actress (I believe she was only 14-15 at the time?) had a few sex-simulated scenes included and considered "kiddie porn" by FCC standards both in Europe and North America.
In any event - I'm sure age has a lot to do with it. Not nearly as controversial 3 decades later, but a harrowing film nonetheless. Haven't seen any withdrawal scene that even comes close to what Christiane (and Detlef) portrayed in this film 30 years ago. Okay - maybe "Trainspotting ..." JMO, be well.
I think it was pretty obvious in the film that many of the extras where real people. You can't get actors to look that...real...I suppose is the right word. There was a very depressing quality that spanned the years and still comes through.
Some people like to point out how true this story is to Berlin in that time period. The only time I was in Germany was in the mid 90s, so I don't have any direct knowledge. But what was stunning about the story is how timeless and placeless it is. Being a junkie is a world wide and timeless tale. I see very little different from this tale and my similar story decades later in the states and countless other stories currently being lived across the globe.
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Obviously you lack a soul. This movie was AMAZING. I don't know what you mean by "too old for this film". At 23 you've passed the age where teenage heroin users & prostitutes are shocking to you?
The only thing that was bad was the English overdubbing. Who called their parents momma and poppa in 1981; certainly not teenage drug users. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of the book.
You are crazy; Long and repetitive?? You know how the days feel like for a heroin addicted prostitute? Long and repetitive. The characters were likable, and sympathetic because, although they were hardened by their life experiences, they were 14 years old! That fact alone makes them symapathetic characters. And "that piano?" It was also Bowie. This is the first time i have heard a complaint about the soundtrack for this film, and the theme music was suitably dark and fit to the time of the film, (late 70's Germany) Seriously this is one of the most powerful and effective films of all time; soory they couldn't fit it into your standard running time of 90 minutes.. Try Lifetime television for Women, they have movies more your speed, and I think you will find them more artistic than Christiane f.
Sorry for the anger, but this is one of my all-time favorite films!
Well, I'm 21, love alternative, raw or slow films, don't mind German filmography, am from Slovakia (used to be Eastern Bloc, so I can kind of relate to the setting of the film), I truly love David Bowie but despite all those thigs I really disliked the film.
Unexplained or unnecessary story lines, occasional poor acting, needlessly long shots prolonging the already way too long footage, sudden and out-of-context ending, clichés, nonworking jokes and unintentionally funny scenes, annoying exaggeration (German stations and subway stops used to be filled by no one but drug addicts, seriously?), strange character motivation and behavior, terrible editing, and even freaking Bowie pissed me off, it seemed like the creators milked his cameo as much as they could; I felt like watching a concert DVD rather than a film featuring a concert scene, when Christiane went to see his show.
I haven't read the book, maybe that's the problem. I can imagine that some things would make more sense, if I read read the book (what the F was Christiane's sister doing in the film?!), but as a standalone film this is quite terrible.
I really don't want to make anyone angry and I'm not trolling either, I just think the film is plenty overrated and really far from being the best drug-related movie. Trainspotting, Spun, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Requiem for a Dream (another overrated, though better and much more powerful film), all of these are better and I'm sure not the only ones, I just can't remember any other ones right now.
Judging by the 7.6 IMDB rating, I think it's actually underrated.
shareI watched Christiane F. for the first time last year, I was 26 at the time and I thought it was an incredible film. It's shockingly raw and relentless that stayed with me for days after seeing it; in particular that scene when Christiane is jumped by the older addict in the bathroom stall, snatching the syringe and injecting it straight into his neck. It became clear to me that people at that level of addiction really have no limits.
I think the film is underrated and deserves a much better DVD release than what is currently available.
"Ahh, it's great to be young and insane" - Michael Keaton
The Dream Team
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Slightly overrated?
Did anyone else find this film overrated?
The movie is barely known (at least outside of Germany). I've only heard about it because of Bowie connection. It can't possibly be overrated, it's a hidden gem.
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