Christine is a 1958 French period drama, directed by Pierre Gaspard-Huit and starring Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Micheline Presle and Jean-Claude Brialy. It is an adaptation of Liebelei, a 1894 play by Arthur Schnitzler, which was already adapted into two films by Max Ophuls in 1933 (Liebelei and A Love Story).
The story is set in Vienna in 1906. Franz (Delon) is a young sub-lieutenant who has a liaison with Lena (Presle), a married woman. He would like to break up with her, but does not dare to tell her. He meets Christine (Schneider), a young woman from a modest background and falls in love with her. He starts a relationship with her, but does not tell her about his affair with Lena.
No relation with the novel of the same name by Stephen King, its film adaptation by John Carpenter (1983) or an unrelated 2016 film.
Christine provides examples of:
- At the Opera Tonight: The climax of the film happens during an opera performance attended by Christine, Mizzie, Franz and Eggersdorf. During an intermission, Franz leaves the concert hall to meet Lena and break up with her. Eggersdorf gets back home before the end of the performance and sees Franz leaving his house.
- Beta Couple: Mizzie and Theo meet at the same party as Christine and Franz. Contrary to the protagonists, they develop a romantic relationship without experiencing any problem and they end up alive by the end of the film.
- Cannot Spit It Out: Franz would like to break up with Lena from the start of the story, but he does not dare to tell her. Eventually, he tells her when he meets her during the opera performance.
- Defector from Decadence: Theo resigns from the Austrian army when he realizes that his colonel is willing to let Eggersdorf kill Franz, because Franz's marriage with a poor woman like Christine would bring disgrace on the image of the army.
- Driven to Suicide: Christine, when hearing that Franz was killed and had another lover, throws herself off the balcony of her flat.
- Duel to the Death: Eggersdorf realizes that Franz is the lover of his wife and challenges Franz to a pistol duel. He kills Franz with the first shot.
- The Edwardian Era: The story is set in 1906.
- The Film of the Play: The film is an adaptation of Liebelei, a 1894 play by Arthur Schnitzler.
- Foreign Remake: A special case because a French film about the same story was also released previously. The 1958 film is based on a play, which was already adapted into two films by Max Ophuls in 1933: Liebelei, a German film, and A Love Story, a French film with several of the same actors.
- The Hero Dies: The two protagonists of the film die in the end: Franz is shot down in his duel with Eggersdorf and Christine throws herself off the balcony of her flat.
- High-Class Glass: Eggersdorf, a rich nobleman, wears a monocle.
- Light Feminine and Dark Feminine: Christine and her friend Mizzie. Christine is blonde, reserved, shy and looking for true love, while Mizzie is dark-haired, extrovert and open to short-term love affairs.
- Love Triangle:
- Lena is married to Eggersdorf, but has a clandestine affair with Franz.
- Franz has a relationship with Lena. He would like to break up with her, but does not dare to. Meanwhile, he starts dating Christine.
- Joseph is in love with Christine and courts her, but she rejects his advances.
- Mrs. Robinson: Lena has a clandestine affair with Franz, an officer who is much younger than herself.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: Eggersdorf kills Franz, his wife's lover.
- Old-Fashioned Rowboat Date: Christine and Franz rent a boat in a park to spend a moment together.
- Poor Communication Kills: Christine commits suicide when she realizes that Franz had another lover. If Franz had told her previously that he had a lover and was going to break up with her, things could have turned out differently.
- Protagonist Title: Christine is one of the two protagonists of the film, along with Franz.
- Romantic Runner-Up: Joseph, the composer who is in love with Christine and courts her. She rejects his advances. He has no charisma, cannot dance and is narrow-minded.
