“Tatort” repeat today from Cologne: Ballauf and Schenk and the suffering of bullying victims

“Tatort” repeat from Cologne
Bullied, insulted, hostile: This “crime scene” shows the suffering of victims of bullying

Be it at school, online or at work, bullying can affect anyone. The Cologne “crime scene” shows this in a frighteningly realistic way. Inspector Schenk is also facing disciplinary proceedings because he is said to have molested a minor.

What’s the matter?

The naked body of Jan Sattler is found near an abandoned villa in the woods. The 17-year-old was a high school graduate. However, the news of his death does not cause particular dismay among his classmates. Inspectors Max Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt) and Freddy Schenk (Dietmar Bär) encounter a wall of silence. The three young people Nadine, Lennart and Robin, with whom Jan worked directly in a project group, also appear unimpressed. The only one who is visibly affected by Jan’s death is Paul Hünecke (Thomas Prenn). The two boys were in a relationship and were massively bullied and hostile to at school. In addition to the murder investigations, Schenk has to solve another problem: he is facing disciplinary proceedings because he is said to have touched the underage Nadine (Emma Drogunova) in an indecent manner during an interrogation.

Why is the “crime scene” worthwhile?

The central theme is a problem that is unfortunately ubiquitous today: bullying. Whether at school, on the Internet or at work – there is bullying, insults, marginalized, hostile and often without consequences for the perpetrators, but with devastating consequences for the victims. In the film, it is the gay couple Jan and Paul who were bullied at school – for example by young footballer Robin (Justus Johanssen). He used to be friends with Jan, but doesn’t want anything to do with him after he comes out. “We did everything together. And suddenly he’s a fag?” he says to Ballauf in one scene. It is above all the young actors who give the thriller weight. The quiet Lennart (Moritz Jahn), who comes from a good family and has apparently become a follower. The secret the boy is carrying around with him is only revealed at a late stage. And the bold Nadine (Emma Drogunova), whose mother does the cleaning for Lennart’s family and who does everything to generate attention. In the end, and this is actually the saddest thing about the story, the young people are friends, but they are still alone with their problems.

What bothers?

“No pity, no mercy”, the title of this “crime scene” describes quite impressively what bullying means, but offers no solution to the problem. One would have wished that the film also made suggestions as to how teachers and parents could react to this harassment. The investigators also seem pretty inactive. The murder is cleared up, but the massive bullying remains unpunished, as is so often the case. There is also a subplot with the paramedic Farid Slimani (Karim Günes), which is not necessarily important for the story, but just serves another cliché.

The commissioners?

It was supposed to be a fun day at work with a surprise party for Schenk’s birthday. But then not only does the murder investigation intervene, but criminal proceedings for coercion in office. A video in which the commissioner is said to have molested the student Nadine is making the rounds on the Internet. As a result, Freddy Schenk not only has trouble with his colleagues and superiors, but also with his wife. Only his partner Max Ballauf sticks by him and wants to clear things up at any cost.

Turn on or off?

The topic is important, but the implementation is only moderate, so the film is not part of the compulsory program.

The “Tatort” episode “No pity, no mercy” was first broadcast on January 12, 2020. ARD repeats the case on Friday, October 14, 2022 at 10:50 p.m.