Spreewald thriller: a deadly legend

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Episode of the Spreewald crime series
Original title A deadly legend
Country of production Germany
original language German
Production
company		 Telefilm production aspect
length 90 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
classification Episode 4 ( list )
First broadcast September 30, 2012 on ZDFneo
Rod
Director Torsten C. Fischer
script Thomas Kirchner
production Wolfgang Esser ,
Daniela Zentner
music Fabian Römer
camera Theo Bierkens
cut Benjamin Hembus
occupation

A deadly legend is a German television film by Torsten C. Fischer from 2012. It is the fourth film from the Spreewald crime series and was first broadcast on September 30, 2012 on ZDFneo and shown on ZDF the following Monday as "Television Film of the Week" .

action

Commissioner Krüger is called to two deaths that have occurred in Lübbenau . While a dead man was found drowned in a river and here excessive alcohol consumption is initially believed to be the cause of the accident, a second man allegedly died in the hotel of heart failure. However, investigations reveal that snake venom was the actual cause of death in both cases.

Marianne Stein, the widow of Joseph Stein who was found in the river, is sure that her opponents have something to do with the death of her husband. For twenty years they have been in litigation with the heirs of the property the family bought and on which they have lived for years. They were massively hostile and labeled as thieves because the land allegedly did not rightfully belong to them.

Greta Althof, the daughter of Thorben Althof, who died in the hotel, approaches the inspector and tells him that her father had found out two years ago that he was adopted as a boy and that he actually came from Lübbenau. Vague memories led him to write down what little he could think of about his past in a book and also to make drawings. Greta Althof wants to know what drove her father back here and to the castle from back then. Since the midwife who worked here at the time is still alive, Greta learns that her grandmother was only fourteen years old when she became a mother. The midwife knows the name of the child's father, but she does not tell Greta.

Commissioner Krüger learns that the castle and the associated county were already expropriated during the Nazi era, that a makeshift hospital was set up here after the end of the war and that the GDR used it as a children's health home and maternity ward. Since 1990 Robert Krautberg has been suing for the return of his land. After his death, his son Ludger continues to fight for his rights. When Krüger researched here, he found out that the property had actually not changed hands completely legally, but this could no longer be proven due to the upheaval in 1989. Hermann Stein, the father of Joseph Stein, who was found in the river, had acquired a large part of the property and assigned it to his two sons, dividing his property into thirds because he wanted to keep part of it for his missing third son. This third son was Thorben Althof, who had driven back to Lübbenau because he wanted to look for his family roots. Before he could find his father, he was killed.

Hermann Stein now lives in a retirement home. The young geriatric nurse René Müller looks after him there. He has had psychological problems since childhood and spent a lot of time with the old midwife, who told him all kinds of Sorbian stories and fairy tales. Including the legend of the Snake King, which he internalized so much that he linked Hermann Stein and his family history with that of the Snake King and therefore cleared the Stein sons out of the way. He had also recently killed Alexander Stein with snake venom.

For Krüger, the murders are too cunning for a schizophrenic person and he suspects that Müller was so manipulated by Ludger Krautberg and that he had abused him for his goals. With a trick, Krüger can persuade Krautberg to make an involuntary confession. However, in order for this to be sufficient for a conviction, further investigations must be carried out.

background

The shooting was carried out under the working title The Return of the Snake King in Lübbenau and Burg at original venues. The story of the film is based on that of the Counts of Lynar . In 1991 the aristocratic family got back the castle in Lübbenau , which had been expropriated by the Nazis in 1944 , and turned it into a hotel.

reception

Audience rating

A fatal legend was first broadcast on September 30, 2012 on ZDFneo . On October 1, 2012, the episode was broadcast on ZDF and seen by 5.62 million viewers. It thus achieved a market share of 17.6 percent.

criticism

Rainer Tittelbach from tittelbach.tv said: “'A deadly legend' transfers the crime genre into the spheres of myths, fairy tales and legends. The search for the murderer in the fourth ZDF “Spreewaldkrimi” becomes a search for stories, for GDR reality, for biography, for archaic customs. The film is characterized by a deep understanding of historicity. With author Kirchner, the past inscribes itself comprehensively in the present, connected to a magical whole - also in terms of film aesthetics. Strong actors, strange beings, a film from a single source. "

At the FAZ , Hubert Spiegel judged: “The way in which parapsychology and psychopathology, childish madness and naked vindictiveness intermesh in the end, seems overconstructed, but thanks to Redl's heavy-blooded inspector, it never completely loses grip. Redl demonstrates the art of making a frugal, surly facial expression glow, and Theo Birkens' camera turns the pristine landscape into a fascinating player. "

The critics of the TV magazine TV Spielfilm said that this crime thriller "about real real estate swaps from the post-reunification era" is an "elegantly convoluted crime ballad."

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Filming location at morgenpost.de, accessed on February 4, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b A deadly legend audience rating at tittelbach.tv, accessed on February 4, 2017.
  3. ↑ Hubert Spiegel: The Crown of the Snake King, accessed on faz.net on May 16, 2017.
  4. ^ A deadly legend at tvspielfilm.de , accessed on February 4, 2017.