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Dom Robinson reviews

Christiane F

A true story.

Distributed by Second Sight

Cert:
Cat.no: 2NDVD 3005
Running time: 126 minutes
Year: 1981
Pressing: 2000
Region(s): 2, PAL
Chapters: 20
Sound: Dolby Surround (Dolby Digital 2.0)
Languages: German
Subtitles: English
Widescreen: 1.66:1
16:9-Enhanced: No
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: DVD 5
Price: £19.99
Extras : Scene index, Lobby Card Gallery, Production Notes

Director:

Ulrich Edel

Bernd Elchinger and Hans Weth

Cast:

Christiane: Natja Brunckhorst

Detlev: Thomas Haustein

Himself: David Bowie

Christiane F is both the film title and the name of the girl brilliantly portrayed in this true story by the Natalie Portman-esque Natja Brunckhorst.

Life as a teenager isn't easy at the best of times, but it's not helped if you're hooked on all sorts of narcotics after trying something simple before moving on to the hard stuff. Christiane's spiral downwards occurs at the new "Sound" nightclub where she goes with a friend and meets her other half, rent-boy Detlev (Thomas Haustein), with whom she begins a sexual relationship at a mere fourteen years of age, but agrees only to do so if he promises not to take any "H", a drug that will give you a serious mindfuck.

Obsessed with pop star David Bowie, the man appears himself with many of his songs being played at a concert, after which Christiane sinks into prostitution and then... well, do you really want to think about it?

The film is presented in the original 1.66:1 ratio, but is non-anamorphic and comes across looking fairly grim. This isn't a bad thing as it's not the fault of the encoding, but is just the way the film is meant to be. It's not a happy-go-lucky film, but a look at the more seedy side of life. The average bitrate is 4.65Mb/s, once peaking over 9Mb/s.

The sound is in standard Dolby Digital 2.0 (Dolby Surround) and is fine but never overreaches itself, but if you knew the plot when you picked this up you wouldn't be expecting SFX ahoy!

Extras :

Chapters :

A fairly decent number here - 20 across the 2hr+ running time.

Languages and Subtitles :

The original German language and optional English subtitles. Good to see that Second Sight have obtained a clean print to which they may or may not be added instead of one with burnt-in subtitles.

When it comes to the English translations, some of the scenes which would normally provoke more harsh phrases seem quite toned down.

And there's more... :

The Lobby Card Gallery contains just eight stills from the film, but the Production Notes provide plenty of info about the tragic story for those, like me, who knew nothing about it beforehand.

Menu :

Silent and static with a shot of Christiane's face against a blue background.

Overall, this is a haunting and disturbing story even if you're one of those people who don't go in for subtitled movies. I presume the BBFC allowed us to see needles piercing the skin when injecting because it shows the negative consequences that follow, unlike the censored Pulp Fiction, which just showed John Travolta getting high.

For the unsure, I'd definitely recommend a rental although it's not the sort of film that's destined for many Blockbuster stores. For the rest, the film is worth keeping as a purchase, but it's a shame there are no more extras.

FILM CONTENT PICTURE QUALITY SOUND QUALITY EXTRAS
OVERALL

Review copyright © Dominic Robinson, 2000.

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