Quick check
“Tatort” from Dortmund
Higher, faster, crash: the Dortmund commissioners between dirty business and emotional chaos
Inspector Jan Pawlak (Rick Okon) happens to meet his wife Ella (Anke Retzlaff) again, who had been missing for a year
© WDR / unafilm GmbH / Elliott Kreyenberg / ARD
The murder of a financial advisor becomes an emotional challenge for the Dortmund inspector Jan Pawlak: his missing wife Ella reappears and is involved in the case. Pawlak’s colleague Martina Bönisch also plagued private problems.
- 2 out of 5 points
- Weak criminal case, but the private life of Commissioner Jan Pawlak takes center stage
What’s the matter?
Visibly nervous and drenched in the rain, manager Josef Micklitza (Stefan Rudolf) visits the Dortmund police station late in the evening. He wanted to report a body, shot at the port. Micklitza explains that the dead man is his business partner Claus Lembach. He had called him to the meeting, but when he arrived the financial advisor was allegedly already dead. Commissioner Peter Faber (Jörg Hartmann) and his colleagues are investigating in the vicinity of the investment company for which Lembach worked and come across all sorts of criminal machinations. Micklitza also has a mess: it turns out that his ex-employer is suing him for embezzlement and taking advantage. According to his statement to the police, the manager suddenly disappeared. Instead, the Dortmund commissioners deal with Micklitza’s brother Micki (Sascha Geršak). He’s a big player in the local drug and party scene and doesn’t give a damn about the police investigation.
Why is this “crime scene” worthwhile?
Screenwriter Sönke Lars Neuwöhner and director Martin Eigler portray two brothers who couldn’t be more different: one a financial juggler, the other a junkie. What they have in common is greed and fear – this is also the title of the “crime scene”. Josef Micklitz is driven by the addiction for even more wealth, his brother Mickie is always on the hunt for the next intoxication. They are both afraid of losing everything. One of the strongest scenes in the film is the visit of Inspector Faber and his colleague Rosa Herzog (Stefanie Reinsperger) to a private banker who describes his employees as “healers and shepherds of the poor rich”. “You don’t get rich without others getting poorer,” is his motto. He has a brilliant opponent in the cynic Faber.
What bothers?
The film can’t quite decide whether it wants to be a business or relationship thriller. Because chief inspector Jan Pawlak (Rick Okon) has a major role this time: He meets his wife Ella (Anke Retzlaff), who has been missing for a year. How Pawlak fights for his daughter’s mother and gets into trouble himself is increasingly coming to the fore. The actual criminal case and the dubious business of the financial managers only take place on the sidelines, which is a shame. There would have been potential for more tension.
The commissioners?
Not only Pawlak mixes job and private life this time and creates tension within the team. His colleague Martina Bönisch (Anna Schudt) is also in trouble. The investigator has ended her affair with forensic scientist Sebastian Haller (Tilman Strauss), which he refuses to admit. Haller continues to press Bönisch, she describes him as a “stalker” and scolds: “I already have herpes because of my ass.” Inspector Faber, who secretly loves Bönisch, sees his chance. In one scene, colleagues hold hands, albeit more unintentionally. How things will continue between Faber and Bönisch should be exciting.
Turn on or off?
A “crime scene” from Stuttgart that was well worth seeing was already running for the New Year. If you are a little bit tired of crime, you can safely save yourself the case from Dortmund.
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