The Stuttgart crime scene “video evidence” struggles with the subject of rape.
Two investigators and (not) one rape: word stands against word in the Stuttgart crime scene “video evidence” – and although there is a secretly recorded video, the scenes are so ambiguous that there is no evidence of violence or, on the contrary, of consent. Sebastian Bootz, Felix Klare, would love to give the case to a colleague. Thorsten Lannert, Richy Müller, is convinced that he can see through the Chose: “No woman behaves like that if she was raped two days before.” In other words: so cool, so composed? So little hysterical and howling? Oh man.
The crime scene “Videobeweis” by Katharina Adler, book, and Rudi Gaul, book and direction, ventures into delicate terrain and tries to tread through it in various directions. The younger investigator, Bootz, already socialized a little differently, at least has the idea to briefly ask the intern for her impression. The older, Lannert, finds the victim / suspect attractive, goes to her home (only for the research!), Even picks up the guitar – and believes he can rely on his gut instinct. Both Commissioners know that this is not a normal case – until it does become a normal case in the end, with a terribly silly, perplexing resolution.
Even with a location after the pandemic, Gaul and Adler have not made a very happy decision: Because it starts with the exuberant Christmas party of an insurance company, Ursina Lardi charms with her (karaoke) singing, there is no question of keeping your distance anyway. The next day – a dead person is found in the company’s foyer – the caretaker says to the police: “As soon as you are allowed to go back, dismantle the whole drawer.” But the TV viewers are not allowed to go at all.
As Kim Tramell, Ursina Lardi gives everything in ambiguity – and that’s a lot. Because of her, you should look at this Stuttgart crime scene despite all its weaknesses. One of these is that Kim Tramell is over-ambitious and also a lesbian (lesbian women in recent crime scenes, a chapter for herself), a woman who is trusted to buy professional advantages through sex. “You have goals,” says this woman, “but you don’t talk about them.”
Who was he trying to blackmail?
In any case, her competitor thinks she wanted to sleep herself up – and then he’s dead. Not without having recorded the said video on his smartphone beforehand, which may show how the boss resorted to violence at a certain point while his employee actually wanted to leave . Or does it show how this seduces him? So who was the dead man trying to blackmail with the admission? And who had reason to push him over the railing (people who seem to be pushed effortlessly over quite high railings, another dark crime scene chapter for themselves).
Only when she was suspected of a crime did Kim Tramell mention that she was raped that night. And isn’t she right about her reluctance? The boss, Oliver Wnuk, justifies himself, as a man justifies himself in this situation: She “is now making herself a victim”, she “just didn’t say no”. And the commissioners react roughly as one would expect: ostensibly factual, in reality more than a little condescending.
“Crime scene: video evidence”, ARD, Saturday, January 1st, 8:15 pm.
