Trainspotting
Trainspotting is from the oh-so-cool Pulp Fiction mold, the late-90s cult film that’s too popular to be a cult. I think this turned me off it first time round, and so I avoided it. But having seen it now, it does have some appeal, despite the largely unpleasant storyline and one genuinely shocking scene. The film walks a tightrope between promoting heroin use as acceptable (although never normal, never glamorous), and showing the downside. But it does have the guts to point out that heroin feels great – 1000 times better than an orgasm can’t be that bad, right? The consensual, liberal attitude of the film has appeal.
Nevertheless, Trainspotting really is a disgusting film – certainly not something to watch during dinner. It’s quite stylistic – a lot of the interior scenes are highly coloured, and there’s a club interior quite obviously stolen from A Clockwork Orange. There’s plenty of comedy, that peaks at a montage of sex scenes with mostly unexpected consequences.
[...] Another day, another film about heroin. But Christiane F is no Trainspotting. This film is the true story of Christiane, a 14-year girl in Berlin in the mid-70s, who turns to prostitution to fund her growing ‘H’ habit. Gritty and dirty, the film portrays 70s Berlin as one might expect – as an environment drenched with drugs and dotted with VW Beetles. The blunt effects and the realism of the cinematography support the story well. David Bowie provides an excellent soundtrack for the movie, including a German-language version of Heroes. [...]
Andrew Ferrier’s Blog » Blog Archive » Christiane F
20 Sep 06 at 20:09:25