DVD Review: Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (1981)

When I was at school, a David Bowie obsession resulted in me harassing my parents into renting Christiane F. - Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo. After all, a film about Berlin that featured David Bowie live footage and Bowie on the soundtrack, what's not to like? Just over two hours later and I could safely say this was the most disturbing film I had ever seen. Some years later and I'm watching the DVD - does it still have the same impact? In a word, yes.

Based on a true story and an autobiographical novel (which is equally distressing),  Christiane F. is the story of one girl, uprooted from rural Germany and living with her mother in an apartment block in West Berlin. Looking for a buzz, she heads to Berlin's Sound nightspot, discovering the cool kids, the cool drugs and the 'family' she lacks at home. It all starts out so well - a few 'trips', some cool tunes, plenty of laughs, a Boyfriend (Detlev)...and David Bowie. Yes, Christiane has a Bowie obsession and he's heading to Berlin to play live. Could life be better for a young girl? Well, just one thing is missing from her life - and it begins with the letter 'H'.

In Christiane's eyes, she's the only one not taking heroin. So just to see how it feels, she tries it - smoking it first, before injecting it later. It's the start of a slippery slope that's recorded in just about every sordid detail - prostitution (both gay and straight), dead bodies, drug thefts in public toilets and the gradual decay of young people before your eyes. All to a Bowie Berlin-era soundtrack. Upbeat it ain't.

But powerful it is. I've seen a few drug culture movies in my time, but none with the impact of Christiane F. Maybe because it's a true story, maybe because Uli Edel's debut feature pulls no punches, perhaps because the film is relentlessly dark and possibly because the young cast is so damn good -     Natja Brunckhorst, who plays Christiane, was actually 14 when she played the 14-year-old smack addict. Add all of that together and you get a movie that has aged, but only in terms of scenery. I suspect the plot is still being acted out in major cities all over the world.

So yes, Christiane F. does have the same impact as it did all those years ago - which is certainly some achievement.

Find out more at the Amazon website