Crime scene: the happy death
| Episode of the series Tatort | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The happy death |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Production company |
SWR |
| length | 90 minutes |
| classification | Episode 706 ( List ) |
| First broadcast | October 5th, 2008 on Das Erste |
| Rod | |
| Director | Aelrun Goette |
| script | André Georgi |
| production |
Sebastian Hünerfeld Sabine Tettenborn |
| music | Ali N. Askin |
| camera | Jürgen Carle |
| cut | Saskia Metten |
| occupation | |
| |
The happy death is a television film from the crime series Tatort of ARD and ORF . The film was produced by SWR and first broadcast on October 5, 2008. André Georgi wrote the screenplay on euthanasia , Aelrun Goette directed. In addition to Ulrike Folkerts as Ludwigshafen investigator Lena Odenthal and Andreas Hoppe as their colleague Mario Kopper , Susanne Lothar and Frank Giering can be seen in leading roles.
action
A body of water is recovered on the banks of the Rhine. Lena Odenthal discovers a telephone number in the woman's palms. In addition, a hotel key belonging to the Ludwigshafen Waldhotel Standke was found on the body. Here employees identify the woman as Sabine Brodag, whose hotel bill was paid by the Swiss euthanasia organization Charontas . Brodag was the club's second chairwoman. The hotel employees say that on the day of her disappearance, Brodag received a visit from a man and that they both quarreled. In the evening she drove away again, but did not show up again. The man paid for the meal with a credit card. Lena Odenthal can use the credit card number to identify the man as Michael Heymann, the lawyer for the Charontas Association. He says that he had an affair with Sabine Brodag for two years, but wanted to end it now because his wife is expecting a child. He does not tell the investigators that he was attacked on that day by a German shepherd that a man set on him.
In addition to Lena Odenthal, Mario Kopper is also investigating the case. He is a strict opponent of euthanasia and, when questioning the chairman of Charontas, Prof. Dr. Scheuren, correspondingly rough. Both Scheuren and Heymann identify Sabine Brodag's body. In their belongings there was a very expensive bag, just like Sabine Brodag lived a luxurious lifestyle in the first place. The investigators, but also Prof. Scheuren, cannot explain where they got the money from. In the meantime, the investigations bring certainty that Sabine Brodag was killed with a ball of silver cardboard. At a bank with white poplars, your other belongings can be secured, including an ampoule with a substance that leads to asphyxiation in a very short time.
The phone number on Sabine Brodag's hand belongs to Katja Frege, whose daughter Julia suffers from cystic fibrosis , among other things , and as a result will suffocate or starve. Katja Frege admits that she was in email contact with Sabine Brodag, but that she only received advice from her to go to Switzerland with her daughter in order to receive active euthanasia. Prof. Scheuren, in turn, reports to the investigators that a few months ago Charontas was accused by a man of having sold his daughter an euthanasia drug. Charontas then successfully sued the man. It turns out that Michael Heymann was leading the process. He has since been visited and threatened repeatedly by the man. According to his own statement, however, he did not report this to the police because he had doubts himself. On the evening of the crime, he therefore met with Sabine Brodag to find out the truth. However, this meeting took place in the afternoon. Lena Odenthal and Mario Kopper seek out Lehrke, the defendant at the time, who trains shepherds to become fighting dogs. He sticks to his story that his 17-year-old daughter took her own life with an euthanasia drug and not with an overdose of sleeping pills, as the family doctor discovered. The daughter only suffered from lovesickness, which is no reason for active euthanasia. In fact, a review of the autopsy report shows that the skin changes on the corpse are more indicative of an euthanasia drug, especially since the sleeping pill dose did not necessarily result in death. In turn, Lehrke states that according to the court order, he was not allowed to get closer to Sabine Brodag and that he adhered to the condition.
Julia Frege's health deteriorates and she no longer wants to live, especially since she regularly suffers from suffocation. Katja Frege seeks out Michael Heymann, but only his wife is present. She now suspects that her husband is hiding something from her. Tape recordings from a café that Sabine Brodag visited shortly after her arrival in Ludwigshafen show her in a dispute with Katja Frege. She confesses to the investigators that she wanted to convince them to sell her the euthanasia drug, but Sabine Brodag backed down. She had gotten scruples about being responsible for the death of a child. Another visit to Lehrke - dog hair on Sabine Brodag's bag came from his German shepherd - puts the investigators on the right track. He says he didn't want to do anything to Sabine Brodag because she didn't sell the drug at all. Heymann was the seller. The investigators conclude that Sabine Brodag stopped the machinations, but Heymann wanted to continue, which led to a dispute. Katja Frege visits Heymann again to get the drug. When he refuses, she tells him that she saw him kill Sabine Brodag. He drives Katja Frege to the stadium, where he ties and gags her. The investigators have meanwhile arrived at Heymann's house and his wife reports to them that Heymann had gone on with Mrs. Frege. To vent, he often runs in the stadium, to which he has a key. The investigators rush over and manage to catch Michael Heymann and free Katja Frege. A few days later Lena Odenthal visits Katja Frege. Julia has passed away and she comforts her. She goes a little with Mario Kopper to get her own emotions under control.
production
The crime scene The happy death is a SWR production in collaboration with Maran Film for Das Erste . Baden-Baden (including the Ooswinkel settlement ), Karlsruhe , Ludwigshafen am Rhein and the surrounding area were used as locations . The film was shot from January 15 to February 15, 2008. The world premiere was on June 23, 2008 at the Munich Film Festival .
When it was first broadcast on October 5, 2008, The Happy Death had 6.90 million viewers, corresponding to a market share of 20.10 percent. As of March 2017, The Happy Death is the best rated episode with investigator Lena Odenthal in the viewer ranking of the Tatort-Fundus website and ranks 20th among the more than 1000 Tatort episodes.
criticism
“… Director Aelrun Goette […] takes up this serious topic […] without tackling it in a spectacular or even exciting way”, prisma said . The star summarized: "Too much pathos, too much gloomy images, too much theatrical suffering, too much dismay, 'The happy death' fails because of over-ambition."
The Focus called The Happy Death a crime scene "that the viewer will have to think about for a long time." It goes "far beyond what the viewer can endure on Sunday evening". "Sensitive, clever and highly emotional", summarized TV Spielfilm , while the film for tittelbach.tv was an "exciting crime thriller, a psychological drama and at the same time a highly aesthetic contribution to the discussion on euthanasia".
Awards
The happy death won the Hartmannbund's film and television award in 2009 and was nominated for the 2008 television film award from the German Academy of Performing Arts .
Web links
- Crime scene: A Happy Death in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Tatort: The happy death at filmportal.de
- Summary of the plot of the happy death on the ARD website
- The happy death in the crime scene fund
- The happy death at Tatort-Fans.de
References and comments
- ↑ Cf. Charontas in modern Greek .
- ↑ a b c Tatort: The happy death at tatort-fundus.de
- ^ Tatort: The happy death at filmportal.de , accessed on December 15, 2012
- ↑ Ratings for episode The Happy Death (706, Odenthal) , tatort-fundus.de, accessed on March 6, 2017
- ^ Tatort: The happy death , prisma.de
- ↑ Kathrin Buchner: A death helper is murdered . stern.de, October 6, 2008.
- ↑ Carin Pawlak: Tatort: "Mom, I can no longer" . focus.de, October 6, 2008.
- ↑ See tvspielfilm.de
- ↑ Series: "Tatort - The Happy Death" . tittelbach.tv, accessed on August 24, 2013.
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