Quick check
“Tatort” from Dortmund
When Faber suddenly shows emotions – emotional chaos in the area
The Dortmund commissioners Peter Faber (Jörg Hartmann), Rosa Herzog (Stefanie Reinsperger), Martina Bönisch (Anna Schudt) and Jan Pawlak (Rick Okon, from left to right) have to solve the murder of a police colleague
© WDR / Zeitsprung pictures / Thomas Kost / ARD
After the murder of a police colleague, the Dortmund commissioners are investigating within their own ranks. The case requires a deep analysis of interpersonal relationships and does not stop at the quartet either.
- 3 out of 5 points
- Solid crime thriller that focuses on the characters and their story
What’s the matter?
Police chief Nicolas Schlueter (Daniel Kötter) is hit by a car and fatally injured while jogging in the morning. The car was registered on Schlueter, so the 28-year-old was not a random victim. The Dortmund investigators Faber, Bönisch, Pawlak and Herzog initially have not the slightest trace. Schlüter was valued by his colleagues and his superior Kathrin Steinmann (Anne Ratte-Polle). He seemed to have had a happy marriage to his wife Simone, and they were expecting their first child. The further the commissioners progress with their investigations, the more the intact facade begins to crumble.
Why is this “crime scene” worthwhile?
The film (script: Arnd Mayer and Claudia Matschulla) succeeds in what is often neglected in other crime novels: an intensive examination of the characters and their stories. At the beginning, all protagonists still wear the title-giving “masks”, do not want to reveal anything about themselves or show emotions. That changes in the course of the investigation. The most diverse emotions are presented: disappointment and anger, jealousy and passion, humiliation and shame. “It was important to me to stage the characters psychologically coherently and to stage their emotions in a credible way,” says director Ayşe Polat, for whom it is the first “crime scene”. This project was a success.
What bothers?
The “crime scene” focuses primarily on interpersonal relationships and approaches the motive for murder on a psychological level. Anyone expecting thrilling tension or fast-paced action could be disappointed. Unfortunately, at the end, the story flattens: After 60 minutes it is very clear in which direction it is going.
The commissioners?
It is the second case for Stefanie Reinsperger as Chief Inspector Rosa Herzog, but like her colleague Jan Pawlak (Rick Okon) she stays in the background. As in many Dortmund cases, the focus is on investigators Peter Faber (Jörg Hartmann) and Martina Bönisch (Anna Schudt). Your private relationship never seems to be completely resolved: While Faber secretly raves about Bönisch, she continues her affair with KTU employee Sebastian Haller (Tilmann Strauss). Faber shows completely new sides in the film: The normally grumpy inspector suddenly discovers his emotions and can even be seen in a love scene.
Turn on or off?
Inspector Peter Faber in a frenzy of love – for that alone it is worth tune in.
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