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Scene with Fabian Hinrichs and Sina Martens: Suddenly in the Western
Photo: Hendrik Heiden / Hendrik Heiden / BR
The scenario:
Life is a graveyard. Inspector Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) is summoned from Nuremberg to the Upper Palatinate to learn that his former great love is buried under an unadorned cross. Did she actually kill herself? The pastor of the village probably had doubts and wanted to reveal the course of events in a church service. But now he lies dead in the sacristy. Voss investigates the family of his girlfriend, an entrepreneurial clan whose members are fond of each other in hatred and agony. Grave mood here too.
The highlight:
The past shines. Flashbacks to his student days, when Voss led a ménage-à-trois with the dead woman and a friend, are staged brightly and cheerfully – and create a nice contrast to the cemetery atmosphere of the present.
The picture:
"Jules and Jim" send their regards. The flashbacks to the free-spirited student days and unregulated love are reminiscent of François Truffaut's ménage-à-trois classic. All in all, this »Tatort« is photographed and staged in a style-conscious manner. Westerns, melodramas, romance films – the filmmakers perfectly imitate different genres and their visual language in order to shake up the investigator hero emotionally.
The dialogue:
Voss stands in front of the grave of his old girlfriend and stares at the cross, next to him the sacristan of the church.
Commissioner: "What happened?"
Sacristan: "That's the north side here. Suicides."
The song:
»Demon Host« by Timber Timbre : The folk-noir song plays as Inspector Voss rummages through the books and documents of his old friend: »Death, she must have been your will / A bone beneath the reaper's veil«. And the Grim Reaper beckons forever.
The rating:
8 out of 10 points. Longing for death, happiness in love: This »Tatort« tells of great emotions in large pictures – and yet at times leads us onto the black ice.
»Tatort: Hochamt für Toni«, Sunday, 20.15 p.m., Das Erste