Crime scene: the gentle death
| Episode of the series Tatort | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The gentle death |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Production company |
Nordfilm GmbH |
| length | 90 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| classification | Episode 925 ( List ) |
| First broadcast | December 7, 2014 on Das Erste |
| Rod | |
| Director | Alexander Adolph |
| script | Alexander Adolph |
| production |
Susanne Wagner Andreas Knoblauch |
| music |
Christoph M. Emperor Julian Maas |
| camera | Jutta Pohlmann |
| cut | Max Fey |
| occupation | |
| |
The gentle death is a television film from the crime series Tatort of ARD , SRF and ORF . The film was produced for Norddeutscher Rundfunk and broadcast on television for the first time on December 7, 2014. It is the 925th crime scene episode. Chief Detective Charlotte Lindholm ( Maria Furtwängler ), in her 22nd case, has to deal with one of the most powerful meat manufacturers ( Heino Ferch ) in the so-called pig belt of Lower Saxony. The commissioner of the LKA Hannover investigates in the world of the fattening houses and meat production.
action
After the meat manufacturer Jan-Peter Landmann swapped places with his chauffeur Karl Ebert on the way home, a shot was fired that killed the driver in the back seat. Detective Chief Inspector Charlotte Lindholm from the LKA Hannover is called in to clarify the case, as it is assumed that the murder attack was against Landmann. Lindholm is not unimpressed by the charisma of the entrepreneur who rejects police protection. Shortly afterwards, the inspector meets Landmann's hesitant nephew Martin and Landmann's bossy mother Rita. When she is later on the road with the entrepreneur in the car, a wheel nut loosens and shortly afterwards the car starts to lurch when the wheel threatens to come loose. Only through Lindholm's presence of mind did the vehicle finally come to a stop in a field. Immediately after the accident, Landmann's head of security, Clemens Müller, appears, who, as it later turns out, is a former rocker with a criminal record, but is treated like a good friend by Landmann.
Farmer's nephew Martin presents the Commissioner with a pile of threatening letters that his uncle received last year. The trail leads to the pig farmer Janzen, who frankly admits to Lindholm that he sent the letters to Landmann. He had bred pigs with better, but more expensive meat, which Landmann refused and made sure that no slaughterhouse would take his animals from him. So he had to have his 500 animals euthanized at his own expense. Landmann, who only produces products from cheap meat, cannot be reached. This is also confirmed by the local police officer Bär assigned to Lindholm. Nobody opposes Landmann, with his excellent relationships with high political circles, for example, he was able to build a villa with his own helipad in the middle of the nature reserve.
When Lindholm Landmann confronts his chief security officer with the criminal past, he makes advances and invites you to a reception the following day on the occasion of his latest product. The next morning the inspector went to the hospital to see the mother of the shot Karl Ebert, who was hastily trying to hide something from her. It turns out that Landmann wrote her a check for 130,000 euros. For Lindholm this looks like hush money, but she cannot find out anything more at first.
Lindholms superior Herbert von Keller, who is obviously very impressed with the entrepreneur, also takes part in the reception at Landmann's. During the festivities, a journalist who had expressed himself critical of the entrepreneur in the past is pushed away and mistreated by Landmann's security guards, which does not go unnoticed by the commissioner. She then has Clemens Müller arrested by her colleague Bär, who at first has difficulties with this task, but then outgrows herself. Finally, Ms. Ebert contacts Lindholm and confesses that her son had received confidential information about unfair dealings on the part of Landmann from a Bulgarian slaughterhouse worker named Beno. Lindholm tries to find the man, recognizable by a conspicuous wink, among the Bulgarian workers, but to no avail. However, she can secure a record in Ebert's apartment in which he had recorded a conversation with Landmann about his business conduct. This shows that Ebert increasingly struggled with Landmann's cynical, inhuman manner. Landmann's motive now becomes apparent to eliminate Ebert and to swap places with him in order to make Ebert's death look as if the attack was aimed at him himself.
Finally, the KTU finds out that Martin Landmann carried out the manipulation on his uncle's car. By an unfortunate coincidence, Jan-Peter Landmann learns what puts Martin in great danger. Lindholm is able to thwart an assassination attempt on him, but with this he gives up all the trump cards, as Landmann now knows that she is on his trail. The inspector also puts her superior von Keller in an uncomfortable situation, since Landmann is again skillfully pulling his head out of the noose and Martin Landmann is too weak to stand up to his uncle.
When Lindholm was researching Landmanns in the past, she found out that his brother, also a partner in the company, had died in a car accident while on vacation in France. The mysterious circumstances of the accident are unexplained, which suggests that Landmann was involved in order to obtain sole management of the company. When Clemens Müller shows up at her house and confesses to wash herself clean, she agrees to let him show her the secret laboratories on Landmann's premises where meat is prepared. Müller says that Landmann's new meat preservation method is illegal and that Ebert found this out. With this method, putrefactive bacteria would be killed by special viruses, so-called bacteriophages , and the meat would be preserved longer. The use of bacteriophages is also controversial, but Landmann has taken the risks out of greed for profit. All of a sudden, Müller leaves the room, closes the door and turns on the spray mist system, so that Lindholm is unprotected and exposed to the deadly viruses, which can lead to death within two minutes. Using her last strength, she is able to escape outside via a conveyor belt, where she collapses on the street and is found by Bär.
Lindholm only regains consciousness after two weeks in the hospital. She learns from Kriminalrat von Keller that Landmann has now turned everything around so that he cannot be proven guilty. Allegedly, Müller acted on his own initiative, and the public prosecutor's office also sees the case as closed. Although she now has no evidence of Landmann's guilt in her hand, the inspector does not want to accept that and seeks out Landmann at his company, but he can be denied. Already moving, she watches a man with a distinctive wink who is driving pigs through a gate. The film ends when she asks the man if his name is Beno.
Production and Background
The shooting time in Lower Saxony extended from July 23 to August 23, 2014. The shooting took place in Regesbostel , in Buchholz in the Nordheide as well as between Vechta and Cloppenburg . The film had the working titles: Alone Among Pigs and The Good Shepherd . The gentle death was shown in advance on December 3, 2014 in a Hamburg cinema.
In this crime scene episode, the Commissioner's private matters are only mentioned in passing. Charlotte doesn't have a new partner. It is her son David's birthday and she has to be told by her mother Annemarie that she is neglecting her child. When a young girl remarks at David's birthday party that she wouldn't mind visiting a slaughterhouse, she didn't mind a visit to the concentration camp either, Charlotte reacts very indignantly and angrily slaps her hand on the table.
Maria Furtwängler was so shocked by the pictures and reports that she dealt with in the run-up to the film that she has hardly eaten any meat since then. It would be nice if the film "encouraged people to think more about cheap meat," said the actress.
When asked why she took such a long break from the crime scene, Maria Furtwängler replied that she loved the role and did not want to delete it from her life. However, she also feels a certain responsibility for Charlotte Lindholm and feels obliged to the viewers who would like this character so much. Since the results of developing something humorous were not satisfactory, it was decided to let the figure rest until a suitable material was found. Furtwängler added that she had long wanted to work with Alexander Adolph, who she considered one of the best German authors. She immediately liked his book and the shooting was great. Alexander Adolph stages very precisely, cleverly and imaginatively and always strives for reduction and compression. That suits her very well.
reception
Audience rating
When it was first broadcast on December 7, 2014, The Gentle Death attracted 10.19 million viewers, which corresponds to a market share of 27.8%.
criticism
The Rheinische Post headlines: “Furtwängler's comeback - great!” Gesa Evers speaks of a “strong case” and states: “The sometimes somewhat exhausting portrayal of the beautiful super-nose, who has also been a single mother at Maria Furtwängler's suggestion for several years with this hard episode a temporary end. Lindholm falls for the wrong track, she howls, is shown and has to be told by her mother that she is neglecting her son. "
TV Spielfilm gives one of three possible points for humor, ambition and action, two for suspense and points with the thumbs up. Scriptwriter and director Alexander Adolph confused typical Lower Saxon horrors "into a conspiracy thriller with bizarre humor and snappy optics," the magazine says, adding that Bibiana Beglau amused as a slightly overwhelmed country police officer. Conclusion: "An exciting sausage case scenario"
Mike Powelz sums up his judgment for the program guide Hörzu as follows: “Not only deadly chemicals and the tricks of the meat lobby are skillfully illustrated in this 'pig thriller'. The issues of gender struggle (Furtwängler versus Ferch) and emancipation among the police (Bibiana Beglau) are also thought-provoking. Successful all round. ”It is also said that Lindholm has never been“ so fragile and so vulnerable ”before. The participation of the actress Bibiana Beglau, known for “extreme (theater) roles”, whose only one appearance is regretted, is emphasized. One point is given for humor, two points each for action and feeling, and the maximum of three points for suspense. Overall rating: "Successful".
Rainer Tittelbach from tittelbach.tv is of the opinion that the thriller "after a gaudy start with a double attack develops completely in the tension field of its characters". The story and staging are tight, the tension in the details triumphs over the tension in the final, there are relaxing moments and the guest roles are superbly cast. Tittelbach is of the opinion that Heino Ferch was “a stroke of luck” in his guest role. The film received 4.5 stars out of 6.
The program guide Gong declared the film to be the “top film of the week”, spoke of a cleverly constructed case about a controversial topic that really got down to business at the end and was of the opinion that the resolution was correct and that the film would end increase again. Four out of six possible points were given, which corresponds to the rating “good”.
Holger Gertz sums up for the Süddeutsche Zeitung : “'The gentle death' is teeming with pigs, real pigs and people who behave like them. In terms of text, the film is fine, but in terms of content, some things seem over-touring. ”Gertz recalls Alexander Adolph's crime scene Der tiefe Schlaf , keyword Gisbert, which was an event. Gentle death has echoes of it. “Whimsical music. Quickly assembled interrogation scenes. And the sense of carefully cared for details: At Gisbert back then, clearing your throat was important, a short clearing of your throat. This time it's a look. "
In Stern , the editor Dieter Hoss presents the film as a TV tip and says the story has the potential for a thriller. The fact that the author Alexander Adolph prefers to tell the story casually does not make this crime scene as exciting as it could possibly be, but it is more believable. So credible that the question actually arises of how powerful the real farmers, the most powerful industrialists in our country are in real life. The strength of the film lies precisely in the fact that the commissioner does not come to Potte this time. The wait after a two-year break was worth it.
Joachim Schmitz sums up for the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung that Alexander Adolph staged a "strange crime thriller". “Not particularly exciting, not particularly amusing and in the end, for many viewers, probably more irritating than satisfying.” Rating: 3 out of 6 stars.
Swantje Karich from Frankfurter Allgemeine also has nothing to do with this crime scene episode, she talks about a "staid" Charlotte Lindholm and previously smoothly told crime scenes from Hanover, of tiring motives for the inspector's private problems and ends with: "Supporting roles are annoying who have favourited Commissioners stumble. But with 'gentle death' the game turns: Charlotte Lindholm annoys herself and everyone else. One thinks that Maria Furtwängler would have submitted the notice of termination immediately after this shoot. "
Web links
- Crime scene: The gentle death at the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Summary of the plot of The gentle death on the ARD website
- The gentle death in the crime scene fund
- The gentle death at Tatort-Fans.de
- The gentle death NDR / Das Erste (PDF)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tatort-Fundus.de. Retrieved December 7, 2014 .
- ↑ Tatort - The gentle death at crew.united.com
- ↑ The gentle death data on the crime scene sequence at tatort-fundus
- ↑ Tatort: The gentle death celebrates its premiere Hamburg Journal December 4, 2014. Accessed December 7, 2014.
- ↑ a b Tatort: The gentle death comeback for Maria Furtwängler as Commissioner Lindholm In: Gong No. 49 of November 28, 2014, pp. 47, 61, 64
- ^ "Tatort" reduces Furtwängler's meat consumption. In: Mittelbayerische Zeitung , October 22, 2014. Accessed December 7, 2014.
- ↑ I love this role Conversation with Maria Furtwängler, PDF, p. 8
- ↑ Maria Furtwängler jumps directly back over the 10 million mark on her “Tatort” comeback ... meedia.de. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ↑ Audience ratings and market shares daserste.de. Retrieved December 8, 2014.
- ↑ Gesa Evers: Tatort - The gentle death of Furtwängler's comeback - very good! rp-online, December 6, 2014. Accessed December 7, 2014.
- ^ Tatort: The gentle death tv movie. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ↑ Mike Powelz: Alone Among Pigs In her 22nd case, Maria Furtwängler takes on a dubious meat producer. In: Hörzu No. 49 of November 28, 2014, p. 38
- ↑ Rainer Tittelbach: Series "Tatort - The gentle death" Maria Furtwängler, Ferch, Beglau, Alexander Adolph. Like against windmills tittelbach.tv. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
- ↑ Holger Gertz: Nobody likes the butcher In: Süddeutsche.de. Retrieved December 7, 2014
- ↑ Dieter Hoss: Commissioner Lindholm is back In: Stern.de, December 7, 2014. Accessed December 7, 2014.
- ↑ Joachim Schmitz: Comeback for Maria Furtwängler Tatort today from Lower Saxony: The gentle death In: noz.de, December 7, 2014. Retrieved on December 7, 2014.
- ↑ Swantje Karich: This corpse is sausage to us In: Frankfurter Allgemeine, December 5, 2014. Retrieved on December 7, 2014.
|
previous episode November 30, 2014: Cowardice of the Lion |
Crime scene follow |
next episode December 21, 2014: The Mole |