General analysis: Christine
Christine is a variation on the theme of the star-crossed lovers, and it is probably not by chance that the scriptwriter introduced a reference to the opera Romeo and Juliet.
The common points with Shakespeare’s play are numerous in the plot of the film: the two main characters meet at a ball and fall in love at first sight. Franz Lobheiner’s family will object strongly to their marriage, although Christine’s father will not. The ending is as tragic as in the play: Christine commits suicide because Franz has died, like Juliet.
The main difference in the plots is probably that Christine and Franz’s love is not as impossible as Romeo and Juliet’s. Their families are not enemies and do not even know each other. Their opposition, if the love story had really had the time to blossom, would have been their social status. No helpers (like the nurse in Romeo and Juliet) are needed since there is no strong opposition to their love.
Another difference is that Franz is in a relationship with the Baroness and does not love her, while Romeo loved Rosaline but was not with her. Hence, the Baroness has a more substantial role in the plot than Rosaline: as Christine remarks, Franz dies for the Baroness and not for her.
Contributed by Gaëlle GINESTET
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