Today in the first: “Flensburg crime thriller: The dead man on the beach” – new team, new location

The first presents a new team of investigators. “Der Flensburg-Krimi” could be the prelude to a series.

Frankfurt – For a long time, the first on Thursday evening only offered genre films of high quality in exceptional cases. Much went according to a tried and tested and recurring scheme, habitual, discouraged. That has changed significantly. What initially only appeared as a trend is becoming increasingly solid. There have long been films in the Thursday series that surpass many a contribution from the ARD prestige production “Tatort”.

With “Der Flensburg-Krimi” today in the Das Erste, a new scene and a new team of investigators will be established. The action begins in Hamburg. When the harbor canteen was attacked, shots were fired and one person was killed. Chief Inspector Svenja Rasmussen (Katharina Schlothauer) can catch the fugitive perpetrator and talk to him. She almost has the desperate man so far that he puts down the gun. The harsh interjection from an incomprehensible colleague changes the situation. The perpetrator shoots himself in front of Rasmussen’s eyes.

“The Flensburg-Krimi” in the first: Escape to Flensburg in the ARD

The police officer is not to be blamed in the “Flensburg crime thriller”, but it suits her that a parental leave replacement is being sought in her hometown of Flensburg and that she can temporarily escape the rumors and whispers in the office. She accepts the job, also to be close to her father, who is mentally ill after the suicide of Svenja’s brother and, who is also a police officer, is incapacitated. Svenja’s partner Sanne stays behind in Hamburg. The couple consoled themselves with the fact that Flensburg is not far away and that Svenja’s change of location is clearly limited in time.

Rasmussen swaps the sophisticated apartment with a view of the harbor for an old German interior right behind the dike. In Flensburg, she moves into her parents’ house, still looks a bit reminiscent, but then the call comes to order her to a location. A body of water was found on the fjord. Forensic doctor Jelena Schiwago (Teresa Harder) already suspects that the man did not die in the water. She will be proved right. Just like Svenja’s new colleague Antoine Haller (Eugene Boateng), who suspects that the dead man is a Dane. He wants to bet on twenty euros. Svenja refuses. She would have lost the money.

“The Flensburg-Krimi” today in the first: The cast in the ARD

The beginning of the cooperation turns out to be a little bumpy at first. Svenja Rasmussen is a pragmatist, also in her announcements. Gambling nature Antoine Haller, known as Tony, misunderstands this as command. His sense of undertones may be due to the fact that, as a black man with a pigtail hairstyle, he often hears openly racist insults and no less hurtful allusions. Both can tease, and it works out quite well with the cooperation, even if Tony in the passenger seat sometimes gets sick because Svenja Rasmussen, unlike him, has a very sporty driving style.

Psycho-killer excesses are not served to the ARD audience here. A delicately developed family tragedy serves as the background for the crime plot devised by screenwriter Stephan Wuschansky. The script impresses with its accuracy and lovingly incorporated details. The example of Svenja’s father Morten Rasmussen (Uwe Rohde) shows that even tough guys with the shape of a fur seal can get mentally ill.

“The Flensburg-Krimi” in the first: Fur seal with anguish

In addition to Morten, a former lover is waiting for Svenja in Flensburg, with whom she has to work every day. Not many words are said about this previous relationship. The looks between the women and a laconic comment on the part of Tony are enough to sketch the situation.

As in general, under the direction of Janis Rebecca Rattenni, a lot of the “Flensburg-Krimi” is told on the visual level. After the fatal outcome of the gangster drama in Hamburg, cameraman Victor Voss established Svenja and Sanne’s apartment with a view of the nocturnal harbor panorama – not in postcard style, but through a rain-shrouded pane. A clouding over that reflects Svenja Rasmussen’s mood.

Svenja Rasmussen and Tony Haller will solve their first case together. At the same time, author Stephan Wuschansky lays the foundation for a sequel. Morten Rasmussen suspects that his son did not die of his own free will. An outgrowth of his mental illness or a well-founded suspicion?

It is not yet certain whether the promising “Flensburg crime thriller” will have consequences on ARD. On request, the producing NDR will inform you that a decision will only be made after the premiere film has been broadcast. Whereby the ratings achieved are certainly included in the considerations. (Harald Keller)