In the winter of 1982, I went with my school class to watch a German movie called Christiane F. I suppose our largely socialist teachers wanted to show us inexperienced teens from the countryside, that there actually were some limits to how socially free you should be in a socialist minded society (their implicit goal). The only thing I really remember from that trip, was sitting next to the prettiest girl in my class, and not so much the movie itself. Being "forced" to have an opinion about something that you are completely uninformed and inexperienced in, is the typical way that teachers brainwash youth to conform with politically correct opinions, in stead of what is true.
Now 35 years on, and only watching the movie for the second time (yes really), it is another kind of person who delivers the critique. I may add that the movie is based on a book about a real person called by the same name.
The story takes place in a Berlin area, hence the official subtitle "Wir Kinder Vom Bahnhof Zoo" (the kids from Bahnhof Zoo), which refers to a certain train station. Christiane (Natja Brunckhorst) is a 13 year old girl in the middle of her puberty, who lives with her single mom. Her mother is conforming to culture but also dates "new" men. Christiane feels completely out of contact with her mother´s mentality and rejects her male acquaintances, no matter how friendly they are. Her emerging interest in the youth social life and boys, eventually leads her to a club, where a lot of drug addicts spend their day.
She desperately needs someone to relate to who is actually living in reality. The alienation of adult society is driving her into a dark path that she may instinctively know is bad for her, but there is no alternative. There are no adults to help her understand herself or the world that she lives in. She runs into a slightly older boy called Detlef (Thomas Haustein) who turns out to be an addict too, but still friendly towards her. She is attracted to him, but he tries to push her away, realizing the path she might be taking, judging from her inexperience.
But Christiane keeps coming back to the club, since she practically has nowhere else to go, except stay at home with her mom. Her mom has no clue what is going on, and this only helps to push her more towards the club-life and a group of teenage addicts, who acts both like the wise old wizards telling her how damaging drugs are, while at the same time doing what they can to lure her into it. This ambivalence is very well portrayed
The second and third act of the movie is a long descent into addiction and prostitution to afford the addiction. Detlef has the same weak attitude towards her descent as the rest of the addicts around her, but he still tries to hold her at a distance, even if he may be in love with her. He makes money as a male prostitute and in the long run it rather works for Christiane as a go ahead sign, than a warning to her. She naturally thinks that prostitution is the obvious way to make quick money for her and Detlefs addictions.
But too late. Even when they are forced by Christiane´s mother too take a cold turkey to get out of the addiction, they shoot themselves just too prove they are no longer addicted. A typical false self excuse everyone of us can relate to when we excuse our own actions. In Christiane´s case though, it has devastating consequences.
The only lifeline she has in is actually her own grip on reality. And as this fades into the hazes of drugs and devolving human relations, the end is inevitable for her. When she further more realizes that Detlef is never going to become anything else than a destroyed drug addicted soul and her sisters death to the same addiction, she loses touch with her self and life and seeks to end it in an overdose
We find out that she survives and restitutes in the fresh air of the countryside. But she cannot let go of her connection to Detlef, even after having been away for a year. Her life is destroyed and she will probably never get to live it with any form of happiness. It was all killed in her descent into self-destruction as one of the kids from Bahnhof Zoo.
Brunckhorst is rather incredible as the very young Christiane. Her ability to extend the changes of her mentality and her body, is quite astounding for an actor of this age. Her expressions are very well done and even though her lines are sometimes delivered with an obvious amateurish feel, she still manages to carry the entire movie. Some scenes are really impressive and silent moments, where we just follow her facial expression, as a way to understand her situation, are some of the best I have seen in this "category".
The supporting actors are more imbalanced quality wise and my biggest problem is Detlef. He simply does not have enough strings to pull in his acting arsenal, and a few of the addict friends are either too limited in their acting or too much caricature in my opinion. So even if the acting of the lead is impressive, the rest of the cast, holds it back from really delivering. I never really got attached to her story, because the interactions she has with the persons around her, does not feel engaging for me. David Bowie´s music is used heavily throughout and he even appears at a concert within the plot. There would be no other rock star more appropriate than Bowie to enter stage, singing about a "thin white duke" (a reference to his own drug addiction alter ego) and I feel his music fits the mood of this urban story very well.
it is one of those movies that is mediocre overall, but that I really want to like, primarily because of the impressive acting of the lead, all considered. I do have a weak spot for impressive young actors, but the overall rating have to reflect the overall film. It comes recommended for the leads acting only and the two hour plus long movie feels more than a bit stretched in the middle without bringing the story much further, except for the steadily slow speed towards destruction.
Rating: 7/10
