“Tatort” repeat from Franconia
A crime thriller like a Wagner opera: emotional, tragic and gripping until the end
“Tatort: A day like any other” from Bayreuth: Lawyer Thomas Peters (Thorsten Merten, left) aims a gun at judge Volker Küssges (Christian Schneller)
© BR/Claussen+Putz Filmproduktion GmbH/Hendrik Heiden
For “Tatort” detectives Paula Ringelhahn and Felix Voss, it’s a race against time: every hour on the hour, someone is shot in Bayreuth. The investigators are doing everything they can to prevent further murders.
- 4 out of 5 points
- Strong case, strong acting performances: You have to see this “Tatort”!
What’s it about?
The Bayreuth lawyer Thomas Peters (Thorsten Merten) is sitting in the courtroom with a client. Suddenly he stands up, pulls out a gun and kills the judge Volker Küssges with a targeted shot to the head. Before he pulls the trigger, Peters looks at the time: it is exactly 2 p.m. Exactly one hour later he murders again. His victim is the biochemist Dr. Katrin Tscherna. When the inspectors Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) and When Dr. Felix Voss arrives in Bayreuth, they quickly see through the pattern: someone dies every hour – they were all involved in a food scandal. The next target is the dairy owner Rolf Koch (Jürgen Tarrach). He is currently in the festival hall listening to a Wagner opera.
Chief Inspector Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel), Chief Inspector Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs, center) and Detective Inspector Sebastian Fleischer (Andreas Leopold Schadt) examine the body of Dr. Katrin Tscherna (Katharina Spiering).
© BR/Hendrik Heiden/Claussen + Putz
Why is this “crime scene” worth watching?
The film manages to maintain the tension from the first to the last minute, and is emotional, dramatic and tragic – Wagner in the best sense. Director Sebastian Marka and screenwriter Erol Yesilkaya provide the appropriate sounds from “Walküre” right away. When you feel like that’s it halfway through the film, the Crime thriller takes a completely new turn – including a surprising twist at the end. The film is gripping, sheds light on a current topic – botched work and cover-ups in the food industry – and was created out of Yesilkaya’s personal concern. The heavily pregnant wife of the screenwriter almost died from food poisoning.
What bothers you?
It takes a while for the viewer to understand the time period in which some scenes take place. There are many flashbacks and changes in perspective that you first have to put in the right order. However, these hurdles do not detract from the suspense.
The commissioners?
Ringelhahn and Voss are still struggling with their role as a team. “Can I trust you?” the inspector asks his colleague several times. First they argue about whether it’s okay to pour long-life milk into coffee, then about the exact procedure to be followed in the case. While Ringelhahn wants to stand up for the weaker ones, Voss makes it clear: “Even huge assholes have rights.”
Sunday crime thrillers
“Tatort”-End for Batic and Leitmayr: These TV investigators quit their jobs
Turn on or off?
“A day like any other,” the title of the “Tatort,” is a top-class thriller from Bayreuth. You definitely shouldn’t miss it!
The “Tatort: A Day Like Any Other” was first broadcast on February 24, 2019. ARD will repeat the case on Friday, August 23, 2024 at 11:20 p.m.
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