“Polizeiruf 110” today from Rostock: The ghosts of the past

“Polizeiruf 110” from Rostock
A journey into the heart of darkness: King and Bow look into an abyss

A murder investigation leads “Polizeiruf” detectives König and Böwe to the Sonntag family. There is a dark family secret that only gradually reveals itself.

What’s the matter?

15 years ago, the teenager Jessica disappeared without a trace. Now her DNA is found at the crime scene of a murdered doctor. The inspectors Katrin König (Anneke Kim Sarnau) and Melly Böwe (Lina Beckmann) meet a deeply disturbed family: mother Evelyn Sonntag (Judith Engel) still lives in the belief that her daughter is still alive. Her husband Robert (Holger Daemgen), on the other hand, has long since finished with the topic. And son Henrik (Adrian Grünewald) has been completely confused since his sister’s disappearance. In order to understand what is happening in the present, the investigators have to delve deep into the past.

Why is “Police Call 110: Only Ghosts” worth it?

“In most cases, children and young people suffer sexual violence in their nuclear family,” he said the federal government’s abuse commissioner confirmed. This “Police Call 110” shows how much abuse destroys families. Women who look the other way and thus become complicit. Siblings who witnessed these terrible acts – but are not taken seriously and therefore suffer in silence. The perpetrators who have to spend their lives expecting their crimes to come to light. Especially the victims who are broken by the terrible crimes committed against them. And the family’s refusal to acknowledge their suffering.

Actress Judith Engel in particular conveys a sense of how misery manifests itself physically: she succeeds in portraying a mother physically and psychologically worn down by decades of repression.

What bothers?

There is little wrong with this moving film (written by Astrid Ströher, directed by Andreas Herzog). The only thing worth criticizing is the broadcast date. A week before Christmas Eve, many viewers could tune out in search of something more contemplative – which would be a shame.

The commissioners?

Katrin König also has to deal with ghosts from the past: she is haunted by a man who turns out to be her father. Melly Böwe, on the other hand, has to face the taunts of her colleague Volker Thiesler (Josef Heynert) who feels overlooked for promotion and clearly has problems with the female dual leadership.

Turn on or off?

In contrast to the Münster “crime scene” from the previous week, this is not a feel-good crime thriller for the Christmas season. You should still tune in – it’s worth it!

The commissioners Bow and König recently investigated these cases: