Crime scene: the flower of evil
| Episode of the series Tatort | |
|---|---|
| Original title | The flower of evil |
| Country of production | Germany |
| original language | German |
| Production company |
WDR |
| length | 88 minutes |
| classification | Episode 651 ( List ) |
| First broadcast | January 1, 2007 on Das Erste |
| Rod | |
| Director | Thomas Stiller |
| script | Thomas Stiller |
| production | Christian Granderath |
| music | Peter Scherer |
| camera | Marc Liesendahl |
| cut | Ulrike Leipold |
| occupation | |
| |
The Flower of Evil is a television film from the crime series Tatort . The contribution produced by WDR was broadcast on January 1, 2007 in the first program of ARD . It is the 36th case of the investigative team Max Ballauf and Freddy Schenk and the 651st crime scene episode.
action
Chief Inspector Max Ballauf has agreed to supervise the house, daughter Anna and his cousin Beatrice's cat while she has to go to the hospital for a few days. Before he can really tune in to his new role, he receives a yellow envelope. When he opens it, a yellow liquid sprays into his face and shortly afterwards the phone rings. A stranger indicates this as an acid attack , but fortunately the liquid turns out to be harmless. Max Ballauf doesn't really know what to make of it. The stranger announces another gift for him and says he should bring the crime scene with him.
Soon after, a young woman is found murdered. Ballauf knows her because he had a brief affair with her years ago. So he suspects a kind of revenge campaign directed against him. Despite intensive research work and review of old files, the investigators cannot find any trace of Ballauf's investigator past that would give any clue about the perpetrator in the current case.
When the stranger calls Ballauf one more time, he explains that he would like to play a game with him. He should also send his regards to Anna. Ballauf is extremely tense and does not want anything to happen to the child. But his cousin could also be in danger. The second victim chosen by the stranger is another ex-girlfriend of the inspector. But he doesn't kill her right away, he kidnaps the woman, demands a ransom of 300,000 euros from Ballauf as a stake and sends the inspector through half of Cologne. Again and again he gives him instructions over the phone where to go next. But instead of handing over the money at the end of the ordeal, the perpetrator forces him to burn the bills in front of a few homeless people. During the action, some banknotes are stolen and by this the blackmailer means that his opponent has lost the game. He kills his victim, and Max Ballauf's nerves are at an end. The question also remains why he does not take revenge directly on Ballauf, but chooses victims who were connected to him. He obviously wants to make him pay for a guilt that the inspector is not even aware of.
For the next game the stranger sends him half a crossword puzzle and he manages to get Ballauf's niece Anna into his power. He speaks to her of a daughter he once had. He spends a carefree afternoon with Anna at the zoo and lets her go unmolested. Max Ballauf is extremely tense, and now Franziska has found out through the crossword puzzle that Beatrice is likely to be the next victim. While Ballauf and Schenk drive to her hospital immediately, the perpetrator already has her under his control. Disguised as a nurse, he brings her out of her room and tries to numb her with ether . Terrified, she manages to overpower him and escape. But the perpetrator also manages to escape and answers again by phone. He explains that the game is not over yet, even if this round went to Ballauf.
Thanks to Schenk's submission that a photo of the stranger could have been taken at the zoo when he was there with Anna, the investigators have found out the identity of the perpetrator. It's about Günter Kuschmann, who lost his daughter 10 years ago. At that time, Ballauf was the head of operations in Düsseldorf, and while trying to find the perpetrator of an armed robbery, Kuschmann's 16-year-old daughter was fatally wounded.
While Ballauf goes to Kuschmann's apartment, but doesn't find anyone there, Schenk takes care of his niece, who would otherwise be alone. Kuschmann is already on the way to Anna and brings Schenk under his control. He cannot find Anna because she is hiding in the closet with her cat. He calls Ballauf and lets him come to. He threatens to give his friend a fatal injection and he has to watch it. When Anna's cat escapes from the closet, Kuschmann is briefly distracted and Ballauf shoots Kuschmann before he can give the injection.
background
The film was shot from March 1st to March 31st, 2006 in Cologne. In the final scene, both inspectors are sitting in their office. As an exception, the episode does not end at the snack bar, as usual.
reception
Audience ratings
The first broadcast of The Flower of Evil on January 1, 2007 was seen by 7.22 million viewers in Germany and achieved a market share of 19.1 percent for Das Erste .
Reviews
Tilmann P. Gangloff's verdict for tittelbach.tv : “Towards the end […] at the latest, this 'crime scene' develops a tension that is quite unusual even for this crime series. Who would have thought that after 35 films with the duo Ballauf / Schenk there is still so much potential in the characters. "
Tatort fans think: “'The Evil Flower' is a case that goes through the head of the Cologne Tatort Commissioner Max Ballauf, with a strong and intense acting by the character's actor, Klaus J. Behrendt. The episode is considered one of the most exciting of the crime scene series, even if [some] critics dismiss the plot as implausible and overly constructed. [...] The story lives less from the search for the psychopathic murderer, but from the question of his next victim. "
The critics of the TV magazine TV Spielfilm criticize the lack of plausibility of this action-packed crime scene: “Somewhat constructed, but a strong episode with a dark look. [Conclusion:] An exciting cat-and-mouse game "
Web links
- Crime scene: The Flower of Evil in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Summary of the plot of The Flower of Evil on the ARD website
- The flower of evil in the crime scene fund
- The flower of evil at Tatort-Fans.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Background and audience rating at fundus.de, accessed on September 1, 2014.
- ^ Tilmann P. Gangloff : Film review on tittelbach.tv, accessed on September 2, 2014.
- ^ Film review 'The Flower of Evil' at tatort-fans.de, accessed on September 2, 2014.
- ↑ Short review at tvspielfilm.de, accessed on September 2, 2014.
|
previous episode December 17, 2006: Insomnia in Weimar |
Crime scene follow |
next episode January 7, 2007: Bienzle and the great love |
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