Four years ago, a well-known actor went to jail. The accusation: He is said to have murdered his colleague at a party. Suddenly, another actor shows up to the police and claims he is the killer. Ballauf (Klaus J. Behrendt, 61) and Schenk (Dietmar Bär, 60) now have to get an old case out of the drawer in the latest Cologne “Tatort: Four Years” (February 6, 8:15 p.m., the first). Can they convict the real culprit? And more importantly, is it worth tuning in to on a Sunday night?
That’s what “Tatort: Four Years” is about
Carolin and Moritz Seitz (Nina Kronjäger, 54 and Thomas Heinze, 57) were once known as a successful couple of actors. But today she is considered the wife of a murderer: Four years ago, Moritz Seitz was convicted of killing the former theater star Thore Bärwald (Max Hopp, 49) after an excessive New Year’s Eve party. The motive: years of dislike and an affair between Bärwald and Seitz’s underage daughter (Sarah Buchholzer, 22).
Now, however, Ole Stark (Martin Feifel, 58) turns himself in to the police. He is also an actor and suddenly claims to be the real killer. The public prosecutor’s office can’t actually initiate new investigations, but they give Ballauf and Schenk a week to find out what’s wrong with the story they’re being served up. The two investigators roll up the old case again from the beginning.
Is it worth turning on?
Absolutely! As almost always, the Cologne “Tatort” makers present a crime thriller of the old kind: murder in a better home with personal entanglements of the families involved. In principle, the film dispenses with all kinds of sensationalism. The story is retold and explained in long, exciting dialogues and many flashbacks. In addition to the once again strong leading actors Behrendt and Bär, the entire ensemble is also convincing. Above all, of course, the crime all-purpose weapon Thomas Heinze, who incidentally was also privately in a relationship with his film partner Nina Kronjäger. The relationship lasted from 1992 to 2002 and produced two children together.
(dr/spot)