Crime scene: Bienzle and the game of fools
| Episode of the series Tatort | |
|---|---|
| Original title | Bienzle and the game of fools |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Production company |
SDR |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| classification | Episode 286 ( List ) |
| First broadcast | January 23, 1994 on First German Television |
| Rod | |
| Director | Hartmut Griesmayr |
| script | Felix Huby |
| production | Dieter Streck |
| music | Roland Baumgartner |
| camera | Georg Steinweh |
| cut | Christiane Krafft |
| occupation | |
| |
Bienzle and the Fool's Game is an episode of the crime series Tatort . The first broadcast of the report produced by Süddeutscher Rundfunk took place on January 23, 1994 on First German Television . It is the 286th episode in the film series and the third with the Stuttgart inspector Ernst Bienzle. This investigates the murder of a bank teller during the Swabian-Alemannic Carnival in Ravensburg, Upper Swabia .
Background and novel
The film is based on Huby's 1988 novel of the same title. It is therefore the second Bienzle crime scene that follows a novel. A new edition of the novel was published by Fischer in 2005 .
The film was shown at its location in Ravensburg , Upper Swabia , with the support of the Schwarze Veri Zunft e. V. rotated. The film takes place during the annual Fasnet , the traditional Swabian-Alemannic carnival. This is primarily known for the fools, people who are wrapped up in flowing costumes all over their bodies and who also wear traditional wooden masks. A so-called fool's hat also serves as a disguise for the murderer in the film . Also shown is the typical playing pranks and mocking the authorities.
Since no fool's guild wanted their figures to be portrayed as murderers, the “Butzhansel” mask group was created by Ravensburger guild master Otto Lutz only for use in the crime scene . In 1993, the group took part in part of the parade route of the Narrensprung in Ravensburg and passed the cameras several times. The fool figure, conceived only for the one-time appearance, was so popular with the Ravensburger fools that it was officially accepted by the Ravensburger Schwarze Veri guild a few years later.
action
While children are celebrating carnival outside, Schmoller, the head of a Ravensburger bank, is stabbed to death by a man in a jester who then steals a folder with documents from the safe and steals some banknotes. He escapes and is watched by the children and a bank employee who surprised the killer. The suspicion immediately falls on the mask carver Albrecht Behle. The stolen money is found in his workshop, which is located across from the bank, and the crime was committed with one of his tools. The perpetrator, like Behle, has also been observed to limp.
At the same time, Commissioner Bienzle from Stuttgart arrives with his partner Hannelore in Ravensburg because he wants to show her the typical carnival. He learns of the murder from Inspector Keuerleber, who invited the two of them. When he visits his colleague at the station the following day, he meets Behle. Since the evidence seems too obvious to him, he has doubts about Behle's guilt and begins to investigate independently. He pays Behle a visit in prison and questions him. Hannelore befriends Behle's partner Maria and also doubts his guilt.
Behle manages to overpower and escape the prison guard Egon Zimmermann with the help of a carving tool that he smuggled into his cell beforehand. In the museum he steals a fool and finally returns to his girlfriend. Shortly afterwards, Freudenreich, the authorized signatory of Phillipp's company and partner of Schmoller's colleague, is also murdered by a man in a fool's hat when he refuses to hand over the document folder in whose possession he is. When the perpetrator flees with the portfolio, he loses some sheets of paper that Bienzle keeps.
Behle breaks into the house of the Phillipp family, for whose company he worked. Wilhelm Phillipp deprived him of his groundbreaking patents in the field of optical devices. He threatens Phillipp with a gun, but then pulls away when Bienzle shows up. Bienzle confronts Phillipp with the fact that he runs a front company in Liechtenstein that fakes the development of Behle's inventions - this emerges from the document sheet Bienzle found. Schmoller, through whose bank the Behle company conducts its business, knew about it and collected relevant evidence. Werner Phillipp, who is also chairman of the Fasnetverein, then tells his father Wilhelm that Freudenreich murdered Schmoller and that he is now trying to blackmail the family with the documents.
In conversation with Zimmermann's grandson Christoph, one of the children who observed the murder, Hannelore finds out that the perpetrator did not limp immediately, but rather apparently simulated, which means that Behle can be excluded as the perpetrator. During the carnival parade, Bienzle breaks into Keuerleber's apartment under a pretext, but can't find what he's looking for. He returns to the police station, where he has Keuerleber's closet broken into. In it are both the fool's ass of the second murderer and the document folder. This also contains indications that Keuerleber received regular payments from the Phillipp company. During this, Behle approaches the carnival car on which Werner Phillipp is standing and attacks it. When Keuerleber, who is guarding the car, wants to take the opportunity to shoot Behle, Bienzle can intervene in good time. He has Keuerleber arrested and carried away.
reception
Audience rating
The first broadcast of the film was followed by 9.44 million viewers, which corresponded to a market share of 26.2 percent for Das Erste.
criticism
"Felix Huby's script [...] incorporates good new ideas into well-known crime fiction models."
DVD release
The film was released on DVD in 2010. It was also released as part of the Bienzle Box, which was released at the same time, with three other films in the series.
Others
- Robert Atzorn , who played the suspect Behle, became a crime scene inspector himself in 2001 and, as Jan Casstorff, investigated 15 cases for the NDR in Hamburg until 2008.
- Klaus Spürkel , who plays a police officer in this episode, later got a regular role in the Bienzle crime scenes as forensic doctor Dr. Stove.
Web links
- Bienzle and the farce in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Bienzle and the Fool's Game in the online film database
- Summary of the plot by Bienzle and the game of fools on the ARD website
- Bienzle and the game of fools at the crime scene fund
- Bienzle and the fool's game at Tatort-Fans.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Release certificate for the crime scene: Bienzle and the game of fools . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2009 (PDF; test number: 119 780 V).
- ↑ a b Bienzle and the game of fools
- ↑ cf. Credits
- ^ Albert Schmid: Aims and organization of the Ravensburger Schwarze Veri Zunft , in: Albert Schmid (Hrsg.): Fasnacht in Ravensburg. A foray from 1353 until today . Oberschwäbische Verlags-Anstalt, Ravensburg 2000, ISBN 3-926891-25-4 , pp. 179–215, here pp. 213–215
- ↑ Butzhansel background information at Schwarzeverizunft.de
- ↑ Audience rating at tatort-blog.de, accessed on March 13, 2016.
- ↑ Film review at kino.de.
|
previous episode December 19, 1993: Deserters |
Crime scene follow |
next episode February 6, 1994: The Baryschna affair |
Bienzle and the Biedermann (1992) | Bienzle and the beautiful Lau (1993) | Bienzle and the Fool's Game (1994) | Bienzle and the Murder in the Park (1995) | Bienzle and the Wall of Fire (1995) | Bienzle and the dream of happiness (1996) | Bienzle and the Deep Fall (1997) | Bienzle and the Champion (1998) | Bienzle and the confectioner (1999) | Bienzle and Blind Fury (1999) | Bienzle and the Man in the Dark (2000) | Bienzle and the double game (2000) | Bienzle and the Secret Witness (2001) | Bienzle and the Death Scream (2001) | Bienzle and the Day of Vengeance (2002) | Bienzle and the Sweet Death (2002) | Bienzle and Death in the Dough (2003) | Bienzle and the Taxi Murder (2003) | Bienzle and the Stone Guest (2004) | Bienzle and the Fire Devil (2005) | Bienzle and the Sicilian (2005) | Bienzle and Death in the Market Hall (2006) | Bienzle and Death in the Vineyard (2006) | Bienzle and the great love (2007) | Bienzle and his worst case (2007)