Actors recite bad. The film has aged badly.

Finally got round to seeing it. Along with 'Requiem', it's got to be the most powerful, raw, honest tale of addiction in film.

You can also see how it must have inspired countless other films along the way like 'Heaven Knows what', 'Trainspotting' and Beautiful Boy' etc.

But 'Christiane F' feels like a sort of watershed moment in this sub-genre of films. And the true story along with it's cult status in Germany at the time, makes it that much more engaging. The scenes of both shooting up 'H' and its withdrawl are terrifying. The film pretty much borders on horror at these moments. Natja Brunckhorst is superb as Christiane, with her naivety and frailty balanced very well.

This is a must watch for anybody intetested in brutally honest tales of addiction, or just great film-making.

Also, David Bowie rocked.

Watched this film again after ~15 years, and I'm surprised to see that it still holds up, despite the cringeworthy line delivery during the first part of the film. A mostly surreal work, it's even more shattering when you know that this is happening everywhere, everytime.