Crime scene: With a steady hand
| Episode of the series Tatort | |
|---|---|
| Original title | With a steady hand |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Production company |
WDR |
| length | 88 minutes |
| classification | Episode 739 ( list ) |
| First broadcast | August 23, 2009 on Das Erste |
| Rod | |
| Director | Maris Pfeiffer |
| script | Jürgen Werner |
| production | Sonja Goslicki |
| music | Jörg Lemberg |
| camera | Benedict Neuenfels |
| cut | Dora Vajda |
| occupation | |
| |
With a steady hand is a television film from the crime series Tatort . The film, produced by Westdeutscher Rundfunk and directed by Maris Pfeiffer , was broadcast on August 23, 2009 on ARD's first program. It is the 43rd case of the Cologne team of investigators Ballauf and Schenk and the 739th crime scene sequence.
The commissioners have a murder case to solve that leads them into the problem of alcoholism. This crime scene vividly and impressively thematizes the small and large alcohol problems of normal everyday life and especially among doctors.
action
After a night full of alcohol, a police officer made Commissioner Max Ballauf aware that he was not allowed to drive this way. Despite his warning, he starts his car because he is called to a crime scene by phone. The consequence for him is that he has to undergo psychological therapy.
At the scene of the crime, Dr. Joseph Roth and Freddy Schenk already at work. In the villa of Prof. Julius Gann, renowned chief surgeon and partner in a private clinic in Cologne, burglars presumably stabbed Carmen Gann and seriously injured him. In the search for the murder weapon, Schenk meets his seventeen-year-old son, Jonas Gann, who, asleep in his room after an intoxication with alcohol, does not want to have noticed the tragedy.
When Prof. Gann is available for questioning, he confirms Schenk's theory of a break-in. Ballauf points out that it could also be an attack that was aimed directly at him, because investigations into possible enemies of the professor led the investigators to Stefan Koschinski. His wife had died during an operation carried out by Prof. Gann, whereupon he sued the clinic director in vain. The day before he had threatened Gann, which had to be clarified by the police. Koschinski, however, denies having anything to do with the murder of Gann's wife.
The questioning of Jonas Gann revealed irregularities. His mother had just "deported" him to a Swiss boarding school three months ago because he had suffered several serious incidents under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The relationship with his father is also strained. The death of the mother causes the two to talk to each other again, but in the end they only accuse each other of their alcohol consumption.
Despite the not inconsiderable injuries, Prof. Gann insists on operating again the next day. As has so often been the case lately, he goes to work with painkillers and alcohol. The clinic staff notice this, but nobody dares to do anything about it, especially since Gann is not aware of his alcohol problem and the resulting operational errors. Nevertheless, Ballauf and Schenk find out that patient records have been falsified to cover up incorrect treatments that have occurred. These manipulations were carried out by Gann's clinic partner, Dr. Thomas Bernstein, committed to avert financial recourse claims from the clinic. When the commissioners confront him, they learn that Dr. Wolf, one of the clinic doctors, had a relationship with Carmen Gann. Since she had ended the relationship shortly before her death, Wolf certainly had a motive for the crime.
While searching for the murder weapon, which could not have been an ordinary knife, Ballauf and Schenk stumble upon an antique surgical tool that Gann had just been given. Thus it becomes clear to the commissioners that Gann must have killed his wife out of jealousy and injured himself as a distraction, knowing that the cleaning lady would find him in time. Ballauf and Schenk confront Prof. Gann and he confesses that his wife blackmailed him. He should go on rehab or it would make his alcohol addiction public. He couldn't let that happen, after all he would be one of the best surgeons and, in his opinion, had absolutely steady hands. Gann is then arrested.
background
With a steady hand was from Colonia Media of commissioned WDR produced. The shooting took place in October 2008 in Cologne and the area around Cologne.
The episode is one of those that don't end at the takeaway.
reception
Audience ratings
When it was first broadcast on August 23, 2009, the episode With Calm Hand was seen by 7.26 million viewers in Germany, which corresponded to a market share of 24.10 percent.
Reviews
Rainer Tittelbach from tittelbach.tv appreciates: "A neatly built, cleverly constructed, atmospherically photographed, hauntingly played 'crime scene' from Cologne."
At Stern.de , Kathrin Buchner judges: “The Cologne 'Tatort' does not get lost in secondary threads, but remains focused on the topic: Dissect the genius at the scalpel with detailed observation and concise pictures. The Swiss Roeland Wiesnekker plays the choleric surgeon in a virtuoso manner as a self-loving ruler over life and death who breaks down under constant stress and pressure to perform. Thanks to a trick, it turns into a social all-round blow - because Commissioner Max Ballauf also has a drinking problem: He quarrels with his job, where he has to 'sweep other people's dirt out from under the carpet' and combats loneliness at the end of the day with various drinks. "
Feridun Zaimoglu at Zeit.de says simply: "Everything about this episode is masterful and outstanding."
At the Süddeutsche Zeitung , Cathrin Kahlweit sees the crime scene very positively and writes: “In the end, there are just a few clichés, but many precise observations that make this crime scene one of the best of recent times in the medical community. On the one hand this is due to the calm images of director Maris Pfeiffer, who approaches her characters with great intensity, and on the other hand it is due to the fact that three coherent, skilfully intertwined narrative strands may not result in a clear picture for a long time. "
The critics of the television magazine TV Spielfilm think: "The strong actors are the plus point here." And come to the conclusion: "A dignified problem thriller."
Web links
- Crime scene: With a steady hand at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Summary of the plot of With a steady hand on the ARD website
- With a steady hand with the crime scene fund
- With a steady hand at Tatort-Fans.de
- Figures from With a steady hand at the crime scene fund
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Location and audience rating at fundus.de, accessed on September 24, 2015.
- ^ Rainer Tittelbach : With a steady hand at tittelbach.tv, accessed on September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Kathrin Buchner: When the drunkard carries the scalpel at stern.de, accessed on September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Feridun Zaimoglu: "With a calm hand" at zeit.de, accessed on September 24, 2015.
- ↑ Cathrin Kahlweit: No night without thirst , at sueddeutsche.de, accessed on September 24, 2015.
- ^ With a steady hand, short review at tvspielfilm.de, accessed on September 24, 2015.
|
previous episode June 21, 2009: The girl Galina |
Crime scene follow |
next episode September 6, 2009: Architecture of a Death |
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