Rating: 4/5
Based on the true story of Christiane Felscherinow’s teenage life, the movie follows Christiane (Natja Brunckhorst) from 13-year-old crush on a boy in trouble to a 14-year-old prostitute and heroin addict
The movie omits much of Christiane’s home life beyond her mother’s fixation on other men, only hinting at the prior years of abuse and neglect. In that sense, it becomes harder to understand why she would start heroine for the film’s stated purpose — to impress a boy
A boy, who in real life, was just a codependent drug user and not the love of her teenage life as the movie conveys. Okay, done ranting
Watching people addicted to drugs, let alone 14-year-olds, is rough stuff and if you’ve seen an addiction film — or are an addict yourself — the patterns will seem too familiar — getting clean only to relapse, promising this one will be the last one and then you’ll get clean tomorrow, selling your shit, selling your parent’s shit, and so on
If you watch the movie as a PSA about teen drug use, then it does its job. As a story, it languishes in the back half as the cycle of addiction keeps repeating, but it functions well as a device to convey the exhaustion of the characters
What makes this movie great is Natja Brunckhorst’s performance. She goes to some fucked up places in this movie — stuff a child actor would never do today — but it adds up to a tortured performance
And seeing Bowie perform early in the movie is pretty cool
Stray Thoughts
- The kids running through the mall to Heroes has big Sofia Coppola vibes
- The mom inviting her boyfriend over to withdrawal together is such a kind gesture given the circumstances. But man what a fucking brutal scene
- David Bowie and Brian Eno’s Berlin music is perfectly ominous for the back half of the movie