Whoever hears the name Ferdinand von Schirach usually thinks of gripping legal dramas such as “The Collini Case”, of the stylistically impressive lawyers’ stories in short story volumes such as “Guilt” or “Crime”. And in TV films such as “Terror – Ihr Judgment” or “Gott”, in which moral questions about euthanasia or the final shot to death are negotiated in court. Most recently, Schirach wrote the screenplay for the excellent mini-series “Glauben”, which was broadcast on RTL+ and in which the Worms trials for alleged child abuse were dealt with.
Ferdinand von Schirach has already been filmed for RTL+
“Strafe”, also on RTL+, is based on Schirach’s collection of stories of the same name, published in 2018. So these are closed stories – which are implemented in an aesthetically unusual way: A high-ranking German director was hired for each story, who lends the material its own signature.
The result is six independent films that, despite their differences, have one thing in common: They are less interested in the legal processes in the courtroom and more interested in the motives that make a person the perpetrator. And for the despair that victims feel in the face of so many court decisions.