“black box”
Is it worth switching on at the Magdeburg “police call”?
Perpetrator or somehow victim? Commissioner Brasch (Claudia Michelsen) with the suspect Adam Dahl (Eloi Christ).
© MDR/HA Communication
A traumatized investigator, a traumatized perpetrator. In “Police Call 110: Black Box” Inspector Brasch pushes her limits.
The “crime scene” has already said goodbye to the summer break, now the “police call 110” follows: The episode “Black Box” (3.7., 8:15 p.m., the first) from Magdeburg is the last new Sunday thriller until autumn. Did those responsible choose a special pearl for the finale? Inspector Brasch (Claudia Michelsen, 53) has to go back to everyday life after the traumatic experiences of the last Magdeburg issue.
Can she do it? Michelsen, who was born in Dresden, is an impressive actor and fills her role with a lot of emotion and passion. Can the screenplay meet the high standards? One thing should be revealed in advance: This “Police call 110: Black Box” unfortunately wants too much, but it’s not a total failure. But first things first…
That’s what “Polizeiruf 110: Black Box” is about
After a party weekend in Berlin, 21-year-old Adam Dahl (Eloi Christ, 20) is taking the train back to Magdeburg with his friend. The two are happy and in love. But the mood suddenly changes when Christof Oschmann (Helge Tramsen, 49) climbs into the train compartment with the young couple. Something is triggered in Adam – not sure exactly how. But it is what chief inspector Doreen Brasch (Michelsen) is later desperately looking for – what is called a “trigger”.
Adam Dahl kills Oschmann. Later he cannot say why he did it. He just doesn’t know. He doesn’t even know the man – he thinks. Brasch intuitively feels a connection to Adam and wants to help him find out the truth. Adam’s father, Klaus-Volker Dahl (Sven-Eric Bechtolf, 64), former director of the State Criminal Police Office, tries to influence Brasch’s investigations. He and his wife (Corinna Kirchhoff, 64), an important psychologist, protest Adam’s innocence. Is it really just the love of two parents who want to protect their son? Do you know more than you say? And what do a dead prostitute and a dead child have to do with the case?
Is it worth turning on?
Yes, in a way, but: All in all, this film simply wants too much. Amnesia, post-traumatic stress disorder, incapacity to act, excessive self-defense, claustrophobic detective on the verge of a nervous breakdown, suicide attempts, previous murders, deceased children, desperate parents, drug-addicted mother who works as a prostitute, shady ex-police chiefs and homophobia. In terms of acting, however, “Black Box” is wonderfully acted and staged.
But from the different approaches of this “police call” one could confidently have made a whole series. The makers try to pack all storylines in 90 minutes. An attempt that largely fails. Rarely can the film reach a depth that would do justice to the tragic main and secondary characters. The plot constantly scratches the surface and rushes on to the next scene – before it could get interesting. As the film progresses, the viewer increasingly loses track: what is important, where is this police call going, what should and may the viewer concentrate on?
Admittedly, towards the end it is possible to get more structure and clarity into the plot. And at the end of the chord, some tension wants to germinate. Nevertheless, the bottom line is: less is more – much more. Had half the barrels been left closed, the result would have been a rock solid and strong Sunday crime thriller. So the viewers have to end the weekend with an overloaded “police call” and enter the “crime scene/police call” summer break.