Christiane F. is the most successful film in German history and has broken box-office records throughout Europe. It is the true story of a girl who become a heroin addict and a prostitute by the time she was 13-years-old.
Christiane's mother, recently divorced, doesn't have much time for her. One evening the teenager goes to a West Berlin disco with a friend. She meets Detlev, a shy blonde boy who is a heroin addict. In order to get closer to him, she tries the drug and is soon hooked. As heroin takes its toll, Christiane and Detlev are forced to sell their bodies to support their habits.
Screenplay writer Herman Weigel and director Edel have no other intention here than to scare youth away from heroin. Christiane F. is unrelentingly grim; it vividly conveys the physical and mental debilitation of drug addiction. Natja Brunkhorst's portrait of the lead character should shake many viewers to their roots. The film ends with the statement that Christiane F. finally triumphed over her habit. How she did it would make a good sequel.