The first episode of the psychological drama about how far criminal investigators are willing to go to find and convict the perpetrators was broadcast by Czech Television on Sunday evening.
He led to Ostrava, where investigators Josef Krulich and Michal Janoušek caught the killer of a young girl in a dramatic action. Then, while doing paperwork and looking for other connections, Krulich discovered a case of another murder, which is just before the statute of limitations. His decision to try to solve an old case is thwarted by his boss. But he won’t give in and will try everything possible. We will see where this journey takes him in the two remaining parts.
Photo: Tomáš Martínek/ČT
Martin Hofmann and Tomáš Maštalír play criminal investigators Michal Janoušek and Josef Krulich.
The miniseries is enjoyable not only with its tension, but also with Martin Žiaran’s camera, which is unusually used in crime films, with its close-up shots that show the slightest movement of the mind. And also the music of the composer Juraj Doblakov enhancing the atmosphere of the story.
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However, none of this would be possible without the great acting of not only the main actors. Tomáš Maštalír (Josef Krulich) is a sensitive tough guy, Martin Hofmann (Michal Janoušek) is his grief-stricken partner solving a marital crisis, and Zuzana Stivínová is the vigorous head of Ostrava’s homicide department who tries to be fair. In contrast to the sometimes slimy investigator Albert Čuba, who goes about his business.
Photo: Tomáš Martínek/ČT
Albert Čuba with Martin Hofmann
The mini-series confirms that it pays off when a former, or in this case, a current criminal investigator works on the screenplay. Czech Television has already tried it with the very successful series Cases of the 1st Department, some of which Bebjak also directed, or Devadesátky, and is now following it up with Byproduct.
The screenplay was written by Jakub Režný and Aleš Preis, who is the head of the general crime department in Písek. Before that, he was an investigator of the First Department in Prague for fifteen years. That is why he knows the work of criminal investigators in detail, procedures and processes, which he presents to the audience in an engaging way.
We’ll see how it goes in a week. But we can already guess that it will be another good crime story.
ByproductČT, 3 parts. Directed by: Peter Bebjak, starring: Tomáš Maštalír, Martin Hofmann, Zuzana Stivínová, Albert Čuba, Pavla Beretová and others Rating: 80%
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