"Tatort" check How is vigilante justice punished?
In "Tatort: Trotzdem" from Franconia, sisters Maria (Anne Haug, left) and Lisa (Mercedes Müller) kill a young man whom they hold responsible for the death of their brother.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) and Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) solve their last case together in "Tatort: Trotzdem". The actress is voluntarily stepping down from her crime drama role, while her partner wants to carry on.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Fabian Hinrichs continues as Felix Voss, Dagmar Manzel will be replaced. Max Färberböck (right, director) came up with the Franconian duo and was responsible for some of the best episodes.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Luis Zeno Kuhn
Lisa Kranz (Mercedes Müller) sifts through the legacy of her dead brother in prison. The dead man was very popular with his fellow inmates and also with the prison officers.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
The wealthy couple Katja (Ursina Lardi) and Karl Dellmann (Fritz Karl) are under pressure.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Chief detectives Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) and Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) seek out Karl Dellmann (Fritz Karl, right).
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
The wonderful Franconian detective duo Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) and Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) investigate for the last time. It's hard for both of them to say goodbye.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Sisters Maria (Anne Haug, left) and Lisa Kranz (Mercedes Müller) mourn the loss of their beloved brother and unintentionally set off a spiral of violence.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Hans Drescher (Gerhard Liebmann) is indebted to Dellmann and is asked to take on a job for him. Even though he would rather talk his "boss" out of it.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
There's a farewell song as the board says goodbye to Paula Ringelhahn. Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs, left), police chief Dr. Kaiser (Stefan Merki) and departing colleague Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) can be seen in the foreground.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
In "Tatort: Trotzdem" from Franconia, sisters Maria (Anne Haug, left) and Lisa (Mercedes Müller) kill a young man whom they hold responsible for the death of their brother.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) and Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) solve their last case together in "Tatort: Trotzdem". The actress is voluntarily stepping down from her crime drama role, while her partner wants to carry on.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Fabian Hinrichs continues as Felix Voss, Dagmar Manzel will be replaced. Max Färberböck (right, director) came up with the Franconian duo and was responsible for some of the best episodes.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Luis Zeno Kuhn
Lisa Kranz (Mercedes Müller) sifts through the legacy of her dead brother in prison. The dead man was very popular with his fellow inmates and also with the prison officers.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
The wealthy couple Katja (Ursina Lardi) and Karl Dellmann (Fritz Karl) are under pressure.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Chief detectives Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) and Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) seek out Karl Dellmann (Fritz Karl, right).
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
The wonderful Franconian detective duo Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) and Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) investigate for the last time. It's hard for both of them to say goodbye.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Sisters Maria (Anne Haug, left) and Lisa Kranz (Mercedes Müller) mourn the loss of their beloved brother and unintentionally set off a spiral of violence.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
Hans Drescher (Gerhard Liebmann) is indebted to Dellmann and is asked to take on a job for him. Even though he would rather talk his "boss" out of it.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
There's a farewell song as the board says goodbye to Paula Ringelhahn. Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs, left), police chief Dr. Kaiser (Stefan Merki) and departing colleague Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) can be seen in the foreground.
Image: BR/Hager Moss Film GmbH/Bernd Schuller
In "Tatort: Trotzdem" from Franconia, two families tried to wipe each other out. What political scenario was this reminiscent of and how is vigilante justice actually punished?
No time? blue News summarizes for you
- Tatort: Trotzdem" from Franconia was about a spiral of violence between two families.
- The crime thriller was based on the theme of vigilante justice.
- In Switzerland, as in Germany, the state has a monopoly on the use of force.
- It was the last case for detective Paula Ringelhahn.
"Crime and Punishment" is the title of a classic of world literature, published in 1866 by Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoyevsky. The tenth Franconian "Tatort" could easily have carried this heavy title - but the makers opted for the simple title "Nevertheless". Nevertheless, the last case of outgoing investigator Paula Ringelhahn (Dagmar Manzel) was about exactly that: guilt and atonement.
Two families trying to wipe each other out after a spiral of violence has reached its breaking point. What did Franken "Tatort" godfather Max Färberböck - who invented the format - want to tell us? Was it a metaphor for war? Is vigilante justice punished differently than a "normal" murder? Why were all the songs in "Tatort" from 1965? And what happens to Felix Voss (Fabian Hinrichs) now that his mother's girlfriend Paula Ringelhahn has left him?
What was it all about?
Three years ago, 25-year-old Lenni was convicted of the violent death of a young woman. Now he has killed himself in prison. Everyone around him liked Lenni and believed in his innocence. His sisters Maria (Anne Haug) and Lisa (Mercedes Müller) are deeply shocked by their brother's death. Because police chief Dr. Kaiser (Stefan Merki) has a guilty conscience in the matter, the case is reopened.
The numerous ex-boyfriends and short-term sexual acquaintances of the murdered woman have to return to the police station for questioning. Then another murder takes place that could have something to do with the new investigation. One of the sons of wealthy businessman Karl Dellmann (Fritz Karl) and his wife Katja (Ursina Lardi) has been caught. Because Dellmann is certain that the sisters Maria and Lisa have executed his son, he now seeks revenge and sets a killer on them.
What was it really about?
Director and writer Max Färberböck (74) invented the Franconian "Tatort" ten years ago. He has also been responsible for five of the ten films in the series to date. What they have in common is an unusual, psychologically complex narrative style.
In his moral experiments disguised as crime thrillers, Färberböck always asks big questions: How and why does a person become guilty? Is there redemption for perpetrators, victims and relatives? And if so, how can it be achieved? Even if religion rarely plays an explicit role in his films, its major themes almost always resonate.
In "Tatort: Trotzdem", Färberböck and his screenwriting partner Stefan Betz have now created a dark scenario of two families driven by revenge, where you get the feeling that they would like to stop the violence - but the perceived inevitability of their revenge is stronger. Perhaps also a commentary on the great wars and conflicts of our time, including the one between Israel and its neighbors.
How is vigilante justice punished in Switzerland?
Switzerland also has a state monopoly on the use of force. Vigilante justice is prohibited and even self-defense must be proportionate according to the law. A farmer from the canton of Bern had to learn this when he defended his field against hemp thieves with shots from his shotgun in 2016.
Even before the shots were fired, the farmer beat a thief, captured him and locked him in a beet cellar. When the prisoner's accomplices tried to free him, the farmer was then stabbed in the hand with a pitchfork, after which he fired shots at the fugitives.
This case of alleged self-defense and vigilante justice went through the courts in Switzerland, with the sentence against the farmer tending to be harsher: in 2024, he was sentenced to more than three years in prison by the Federal Court.
Which classic songs from 1965 influenced the movie?
Right from the opening credits of "Tatort: Trotzdem", you experience something very unusual for the format: you see distorted scenes of struggle and suffering, which you experience again later in the film in "pure form". This is accompanied by "Eve Of Destruction", Barry McGuire's folk anthem from 1965, a dystopian pop song about the threat of nuclear war, the shame of Vietnam, racism and religious zealots - and yet it became a number one hit in the USA.
Whether by coincidence or not, two other classic songs are played in "Tatort: Trotzdem" that were written in 1965 or became popular in that year: Bob Dylan's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" in a cover version to a rather violent scene and finally - performed by Dagmar Manzel, who is also a singer - Simon & Garfunkel's "The Sound Of Silence" in an a cappella version at police headquarters. Her farewell song as an inspector.
What's next for the Franconian "Tatort"?
Dagmar Manzel (66) is leaving "Tatort" at her own request. Her character Paula Ringelhahn is retiring in the classic way. "It would be a bit silly if I was still running around with a gun in 'Tatort' at the age of 70," says Manzel, who wants to have more time for theater, music projects and a little more free time in the future. Fabian Hinrichs, on the other hand, will remain on board, as will Eli Wasserscheid as assistant Wanda Goldwasser.
Bettina Ricklefs, BR Head of Program for the feature film series: "In the eleventh 'Tatort' from Franconia, which will be filmed in late autumn 2024 and broadcast in 2025, Felix Voss, played by Fabian Hinrichs, will investigate without Paula. Who will subsequently join the 'Tatort' Franconia team will be decided at a later date."
