Crime scene: Welcome to Cologne

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Episode of the series Tatort
Original title Welcome to Cologne
Country of production Germany
original language German
Production
company		 WDR
length 89 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
classification Episode 371 ( List )
First broadcast October 5, 1997 on Das Erste
Rod
Director Kaspar Heidelbach
script Niki Stein
production Sonja Goslicki
music Kambiz Giahi
camera Achim Poulheim
cut Jutta Brandstaedter
occupation

Welcome to Cologne is a television film from the crime series Tatort by ARD and ORF . The film, broadcast for the first time on October 5, 1997, is the 371st crime scene and the first case of the investigators Ballauf und Schenk, played by Klaus J. Behrendt and Dietmar Bär .

The case deals with Ballauf's work in the drug field and his stay in the USA .

action

The Düsseldorf- based commissioner Max Ballauf is an investigator for the American Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in Miami . During an operation, two international drug lords are supposed to be caught, which Ballauf's friend Eileen pays with her life because she acted as bait.

With grief, Ballauf seeks consolation in alcohol and, while drunk, collides with an American policeman who sees it as an attack. Thereupon he is expelled from the country and is supposed to work for the criminal police in Cologne . His new colleague, Freddy Schenk, is not exactly happy to have a new manager. He had given himself hope for this position. Now he is supposed to pick up Ballauf from the airport, but a body find stops him. The former policeman Korff, who last worked for a security service, was murdered. Assenbacher, the head of the drug department, suspects that someone from the drug scene killed Korff in revenge. The head of the security service Garry Busch, who was formerly chief inspector in the drug department, is waging a private war against the Cologne drug mafia. He used very unconventional methods to crack down on the drug dealers, which resulted in one of the junkies being killed.

The police targeted the petty criminal Zorro through a tip, and when the murder weapon was found during a house search, the case seemed to have been resolved. For Ballauf there are some arguments against it, as he knows that Busch still has good relations with Assenbacher, so that it should not have been a problem for him to slip the gun on Zorro.

Ballauf had learned from Busch that Korff was last working for the Amalfi fishmonger. Maybe he saw something there that he shouldn't have seen. When Ballauf secretly tries to look around there at night, he is knocked down by security officers. This prompts him to take a closer look at Busch's company. With the support of Kriminalrat Körber, he obtained a house search and came across various files that Busch had created about police officers and in which precise records were kept of gifts to them.

Ballauf discovered that Korff was smuggled into Busch's company as an undercover agent in order to put an end to his trade. Still, Busch denies having killed him. He points out that the murderer (s) obviously wanted to cover up where the murder occurred. He didn't have to. That makes sense to Ballauf, and so he focuses once more on the Amalfi company, which is now under surveillance by Kriminalrat Körber and Assenbacher. It looks like Amalfi is smuggling heroin in its fish and distributing it from here. When the drug squad wants to take action, Schenk spoils the action by going it alone. He appears unplanned at Amalfi and is taken hostage by its people. Ballauf manages to free his colleague with a targeted shot at Amalfi, but Busch is also killed in the process.

While Max Ballauf is disappointed by the behavior of Körber and Assenbacher, who sacrificed Korff for their successful search and now also put Schenk's life in danger, the relationship with Schenk is improving noticeably.

Production notes, background

The shooting of Willkommen in Köln took place in Cologne and Miami .

According to customs inspector Kressin , this is the first crime scene in 24 years to come back from Cologne. Max Ballauf investigated together with Chief Inspector Flemming at the Düsseldorf Criminal Police Office. From there he went to Canada and stayed in contact with the BKA while working for the American Drug Search (DEA).

The title that welcomes the team to the city of Cologne was adopted in 2013 for the first case of the Hamburg duo Tschiller and Gümer: Welcome to Hamburg . The actor Erdal Yıldız can be seen in both episodes, which are sixteen years apart.

reception

Audience rating

The first broadcast of Willkommen in Köln on October 5, 1997 was seen by a total of 9.18 million viewers in Germany and achieved a market share of 26.3 percent for Das Erste .

criticism

TV Spielfilm showed the thumbs up and said: “The beginning of a wonderful friendship”.

On the website How was the crime scene? Lars-Christian Daniels described the film as “Hollywood-ready” and said: “Showdown in the Cologne harbor that has washed itself: stun grenades, brilliant falls through glass roofs, snipers and hail of bullets - director Kaspar Heidelbach (class reunion) opts for the American version and drives for the grand finale, loads of explosions and stunts. "

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for crime scene: Welcome to Cologne . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry (PDF). Template: FSK / maintenance / type not set and Par. 1 longer than 4 characters
  2. ^ Tatort - Welcome to Cologne Filming locations at the Internet Movie Database , accessed on February 21, 2015.
  3. ↑ Tatort-Willkommen in Cologne audience rating at colonia-media.de, accessed on February 21, 2015.
  4. ^ Tatort: ​​Welcome to Cologne Short review by TV Spielfilm at tvspielfilm.de, accessed on February 21, 2015.
  5. ↑ Lars-Christian Daniels: Tatort: ​​Willkommen in Köln Film review by TV Spielfilm at wiewardertatort.blogspot.de, accessed on February 21, 2015.
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