Crime scene: the elephant in the room
| Episode of the series Tatort | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The elephant in the room |
| Country of production | Switzerland |
| original language | Swiss German or German |
| length | 90 minutes |
| classification | Episode 1106 ( List ) |
| First broadcast | October 27, 2019 on SRF 1 and Das Erste |
| Rod | |
| Director | Tom Gerber |
| script |
Felix Benesch , Mats Frey |
| production |
Susann Henggeler , Hans Syz |
| music | Adrian Frutiger |
| camera | Jan Mettler |
| cut | Isabel Meier |
| occupation | |
| |
The Elephant in the Room is a television film from the crime series Tatort . The 17 common case of the Swiss crime scene team from Lucerne was on 27 October 2019 SRF 1 and at the same time in the first erstgesendet. After nine years it is the last episode of the two commissioners.
action
Inspector Reto Flückiger, somewhat reluctantly, accompanies his girlfriend Eveline on a boat trip with dinner on Lake Lucerne , in which Lucerne's elite from business, politics and society take part. Flückiger, who is on his way to the toilet, notices a young man who is obviously looking for something in a cabin below deck. When he speaks to him, the man forcibly pulls him into the room, flees and bolts the door. Shortly thereafter there was an attack on board in which the captain died of smoke inhalation and panic broke out. After Flückiger can free himself from the cabin, he actively helps to sort out the chaos. His colleague Liz Ritschard is informed and starts the investigation. Immediately after the inaugural speech of the host Planker, there was a massive, verbal disturbance by Canton Warden Bernhard Ineichen and the latter had left the ship shortly afterwards, so Flückiger is looking for him. As he looks around his apartment, he is photographed by a reporter from the street. The inspector wants to prevent him from doing so, but he immediately takes flight. In Ineichen's office, Flückiger found material according to which the local politician Planken was involved in the arms business and bribery affairs.
After analyzing Ineichen's social media activities , Liz Ritschard becomes aware of Christian Streuli, with whom the person wanted maintained lively media contact and who worked as a service person on the ship on the evening of the attack. Flückiger looks for Streuli immediately and looks around him, but can't find any trace of Ineichen here either. Liz Ritschard thinks it is possible that the disagreeable troublemaker never disembarked, but was pushed into the water during the tumult on the ship. Ineichen's body is actually found at a weir . Because of the bruises it is clear that he was violently pushed over the railing . Flückiger and Ritchards therefore research intensively about Planker and his businesses, because for them he has the strongest motive to get Ineichen out of the way. Another clue leads to the victim's ex-wife, who is a journalist for the Luzerner Zeitung and, to Ineichen's annoyance, reported too positively about Planker because she has a relationship with his son.
In the middle of a police press conference, the attacker suddenly reports online on all cell phones of those present. Disguised in a pig mask and with a distorted voice, he makes it clear that the attack was a wake-up call, but unfortunately nobody woke up. The man denounces the greed of the people and threatens with further killing of those who would take more than they are entitled to. The seedy Frédéric Roux, head of the aggressive news portal "Veritas News", has been disturbing Flückerger's work since the beginning of the investigation. With provocative remarks and films he has been making himself unpopular with the police for some time. When it is certain that he has background information about the identity of the assassin, but does not reveal it, Flückiger loses his temper and becomes violent against Roux. As a result, he is warned by his boss Mattmann, but he is sure that Roux will still get the information he needs. Flückiger's colleague Haas secretly installs illegal software in Roux's editorial office and can externally view the entire “Veritas News” server. This is how the investigators become aware of emails from a "Nero", which prompts Liz Ritschard to consult the ship's crew's backround checks. According to this, Christian Streuli owns a black German shepherd named "Nero", and the suspect has been in a dispute with the authorities for years. This went so far that he had to close his restaurant three years ago and sell his house. Ritschard does not believe, however, that he is only looking for “cold revenge”, but feels that he is a victim of the system and that he has become a radical assassin.
When Flückiger seeks out Streuli to talk to him, he finds a rather desperate person whose life's work has gotten out of hand and who has now also become a murderer. Streuli admits to having quarreled with Ineichen on board the ship because he wanted to prevent him from using force against Planker. Ineichen would have fallen overboard. In his hopeless situation, Streuli is about to hit the final blow. Flückiger cannot prevent him from doing so for the time being, as he is being tied up in his house. With several petrol cans in the car, Streuli drives towards Planker, who has just come from Ineichen's funeral. While he is still waiting for the right time, Flückiger is found and freed by his colleagues. This is how Commissioner Streuli's car rams into the police car and thus prevents another murder. However, Streuli dies in the explosion of his car and Flückiger is also slightly injured.
Flückiger has to answer for the illegal action against "Veritas News" and the physical attack against Roux. Since he has had the feeling for a while that he will not get ahead if he just keeps to the rules, he voluntarily quits the service. Ritschards would like to change his mind, but Flückiger thinks you have to set an example. One that all see.
background
The film was shot on 23 days in Lucerne from November 9, 2018 to December 7, 2018. The shooting took place u. a. on the northwest arm of Lake Lucerne at the Chapel Bridge .
The title alludes to the phrase the elephant in the room . This metaphor (elephant in the room) has become more and more popular in recent years and describes an obvious problem that is in the room, but which is not addressed or does not want to be seen by those present.
reception
Audience rating
The first broadcast of Der Elefant im Raum on October 27, 2019 was seen by 7.39 million viewers in Germany and achieved a market share of 21.1 percent.
Reviews
Christiane Oelrich, dpa correspondent , comes to the conclusion that Commissioner Flückinger, who comes along with “many of his tough curses”, subsequently appears “completely unleashed”, “as if the film character Flückinger was letting out what the actor Gubser felt he found out about the end of his 'crime scene' time ”. In an interview, Stefan Gubser said, "The end was like a kick in the buttocks", although he admitted "the characters lacked meat" because "the directors had focused too much on the cases and neglected the characters". The episode is "exciting, even if the subject of 'greasy fat cats versus poor sincere people' is a bit worn out". Oelrich comes to the conclusion that “it cannot have been because of Gubser that the Lucerne crime scene mostly flopped with the German audience”. Gubser wished his successors “that the new» crime scene «from Zurich will be a complete success”.
The editorial staff of the Prisma summed up that as a result, a “powerful farewell to Lucerne” will be offered, “you could see enough of the beautiful aerial photos of Lake Lucerne ”. From the episode “the pictures” are remembered, “Lucerne, the Chapel Bridge and Lake Lucerne”, because “Flückinger and Ritschard have a lot to offer” in their parting sequence “ unfortunately […] not”, which is “a shame”, “because so we will not miss her ”. It awarded two out of three possible stars.
Lena Karber from the Westfälische Nachrichten wrote that the episode was a “good last appearance” by inspectors Flückinger and Ritschard, “unfortunately their last one - and well worth a final”. As a result, it was possible to develop an "interesting, if in places exaggerated crime film". "Only marginally it was about social inequality and corruption, but more about freedom of the press and fake news ", whereby "using the example of a fictitious news portal" was shown, "what bad dynamics the exchange on the Internet can spark". Since the system protected the operators of the news portal “better than the police”, this meant that “Flückinger himself resorted to unfair methods”, which, according to the script, remained “unreflective”. Karber summarized this with the words: “Consequences yes, insight no. This ending was ultimately very fitting. "
In Spiegel Online depreciated Christian Buss : "All journalists lie, all politicians are corrupt: The last scene 'from Lucerne fueled the conspiracy theories that he claims to debunk. Flückiger did not deserve this fatal finale. […] 'The elephant in the room' […] should be a particularly gloomy farewell; Unfortunately it has become a particularly dumb bold. "
Volker Bergmeister from Tittelbach.tv saw it similarly and wrote: “The Swiss crime novels were not undisputed, sedate, wooden, poorly synchronized - those were the main points of criticism. Unfortunately, this also partially applies to the last case. [...] The striking story about arms deals and sensation-hungry media as well as the explanatory and instructional dialogues mean that the farewell is not particularly difficult despite the duo Gubser / Mayer. "
Filmstarts.de judged even more blatantly : "Tom Gerber's 'Tatort: The Elephant in the Room' is a terrible crime story that makes the farewell of the rarely convincing Lucerne investigators seem almost like a release."
Web links
- Crime scene: The elephant in the room in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Summary of the plot of Der Elefant im Raum on the ARD website
- The elephant in the room at the crime scene fund
- The elephant in the room at Tatort-Fans.de
- Crime scene: the elephant in the room at crew united
Individual evidence
- ↑ Crime scene: The elephant in the room at crew united
- ↑ a b c d Prisma : Farewell to Lucerne with strong images , Tatort, sb, TV program October 26, 2019 - November 1, 2019, No. 43/2019, p. 21
- ↑ Manuel Weis: Primetime check: Sunday, October 27, 2019.quotemeter.de , October 28, 2019, accessed on October 28, 2019 .
- ↑ a b c d e Westfälische Nachrichten : Dramatic end to a steamship trip - Commissioner Flückinger unpacks properly as a farewell , media, dpa , Christiane Oelrich, October 26, 2019
- ↑ a b c d e Westfälische Nachrichten : Good last appearance - Tatort: An elephant in the room (ARD) , media, seen, Lena Karber, October 28, 2019
- ^ Christian Buß: Questionable "Tatort" farewell from Flückiger. Journalists, politicians, arms dealers - all pigs! Spiegel Online, October 25, 2019, accessed on October 25, 2019 : "Rating: 1 out of 10 points"
- ↑ Delia Mayer, Stefan Gubser, Benesch / Frey, Gerber: Flückiger hands over the badge to Tittelbach.tv , accessed on March 5, 2020.
- ↑ Film review at filmstarts.de , accessed on March 6, 2020.
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