“Tatort” repetition from Ludwigshafen
Big city western on the Rhine: Lena Odenthal plays the song of death
Chief Inspector Lena Odenthal (Ulrike Folkerts) on one of her solo trips
© SWR/Jacqueline Krause-Burberg / DPA
The villain resides in the train carriage, Lena Odenthal handles two pistols and at the end there is a showdown: This “crime scene” repetition from Ludwigshafen plays with Western motifs. Unfortunately not very convincing.
- 3 out of 5 points
- Lena Odenthal as “lonesome sheriff”: The commissioner fights alone against criminals and outlaws
What’s the matter?
He drives a Ferrari and wears a watch for 20,000 euros: Timur Kerala was in good business as a club owner and head of a security company. But one night he is attacked at a traffic light and the next morning found dead on a construction site. Chief inspector Lena Odenthal (Ulrike Folkerts) and her colleague Johanna Stern (Lisa Bitter) suspect the perpetrators to be private security service providers who offer personal security or provide bouncers. The undisputed top dog in this field is the entrepreneur Gerhard Arentzen (Thure Riefenstein). He gets the lucrative jobs and has the best contacts in politics. Kerala wanted to challenge him for the rank. Did he have to pay for it with his life? When the ex-wife and the employees of Kerala are also threatened, Odenthal takes the shady Arentzen personally to heart.
Why is the “Unter Wölfen” case worthwhile?
Save wherever you can – this motto has also applied to the police for years. Resources are being cut, items are being cut and even fuel is being rationed. In this context, the “Unter Wölfen” case poses an explosive question: What if the budget for internal security is cut so much that the state can no longer ensure the security of its citizens? In the film, this gap is filled by private security services, which are increasingly taking on tasks for the authorities and are sponsored by the Minister of the Interior. Things get tricky when some of these security companies are linked to organized crime. This is not fiction, but has long been reality.
What bothers?
Lena Odenthal may be the longest-serving “Tatort” commissioner, but the fact that in this case she regulates everything alone like a super sheriff is a bit exaggerated. She messes with the villain Arentzen and does math homework, bakes pizza and buys cat food. Director and screenwriter Tom Bohn meant a little too well with his heroine’s skills.
The Commissioners?
The film is fully tailored to Lena Odenthal, her colleague Johanna Stern remains extremely pale. The figure lacks profile. Stern seems amateurish, asks unimaginative questions and has stress with her children again. In return, the viewer gets unusually private insights into Odenthal’s life. The chief inspector lives in a modern loft, has a cat named Mikesch and sleeps with the service weapon on the bedside table. In addition, the otherwise cool investigator suddenly shows motherly feelings for the daughter of the murder victim.
Turn on or off?
The “crime scene” was broadcast on Boxing Day 2020. Anyone who missed it back then and is a Lena Odenthal fan is welcome to watch it.
The “Tatort” episode “Unter Wölfen” was first broadcast on December 26, 2020. ARD will repeat the film on Friday, April 28, 2023 at 10:50 p.m.