Crime thriller with Thiel and Boerne
Naked gardeners and criminal pensioners: The “crime scene” from Münster is really turning up the heat
“Crime Scene: Among Gardeners” from Münster: The investigation leads Thiel and Boerne to an allotment garden association
© WDR/Bavaria Fiction GmbH/Taimas Ahangari / ARD
The “crime scene” detectives Thiel and Boerne have to investigate the death of a pensioner who is found lifeless in her allotment garden. The seemingly blameless woman had numerous secrets – including a corpse in the carrot patch.
- 3 out of 5 points
- It begins as an allotment farce and ends on the big political stage: a film that wants a little too much
What’s the matter?
Sabine Schmidt (Sibylle Canonica) seems to be an ordinary retired senior citizen: she grows vegetables in her allotment garden, writes postcards while on vacation and also works at a gas station to supplement her pension. When she collapses in front of her arbor, everyone initially assumes it’s due to old age. Commissioner Frank Thiel (Axel Prahl) and Professor Boerne (Jan Josef Liefers) only become suspicious when they find two dead squirrels next to the corpse. Didn’t the pensioner die a natural death? It turns out that Sabine Schmidt actually had a completely different name and had a lot of other secrets. When another dead person is found in her allotment garden, the investigation gains momentum.
Why is “Crime Scene: Among Gardeners” worth it?
The investigator duo Thiel and Boerne have had a large fan base for decades. In the most recent case, she gets her money’s worth. The film manages the usual balancing act between crime and slapstick. Individual dialogues that amusingly allude to current events are also memorable. For example, when Thiel is knocked down and then says to Boerne: “To paraphrase the Chancellor: I can’t remember.” Or: “My soul would love to move, but the rent is so damn expensive.” The script comes from Regine Bielefeldt. She was already responsible for the Münster case “Magic Mom”, which was broadcast last year and reached 13.46 million people – the best “Tatort” rating of 2023.
What bothers?
The crime thriller denounces ageism, i.e. that people are discriminated against because of their age. At the same time, all the protagonists never tire of emphasizing how old Sabine Schmidt was, at 70. “She was old, she’s dead,” it says matter-of-factly at one point. And Professor Boerne notices how in good shape the “old lady” was. Given the fact that more and more people are expected to work and be productive until they are 67, this seems strange. Some people might find it difficult to follow the story in detail: it begins with all sorts of bizarre things in the allotment garden association and then turns the big wheel of espionage, secret services and historical events. Concentrating solely on the microcosm of the allotment garden and its inhabitants would certainly have been quite amusing and would have given the film more structure.
Sunday crime thrillers
“Tatort”-off for Batic and Leitmayr: These TV investigators are resigning from their duties
The commissioners?
Thiel is stressed. Not only does he have to solve two cases, but he also has to repair his father’s bathroom. When he appears at the police station in overalls, he is viewed critically by public prosecutor Wilhelmine Klemm (Mechthild Großmann). Boerne shows unusual commitment to solving the mysterious murders – including nightly excavations and egg experiments in the microwave. Of course, the professor doesn’t act completely selflessly.
Turn on or off?
Anyone who wants a carefree evening watching TV is always in good hands with “Tatort” from Münster. Laughs guaranteed, tune in!
Thiel and Boerne recently investigated these cases: