ARD's Sunday crime thriller is finally back. After the unusually long summer break - at least 19 weeks - the German-speaking “crime scene” and “police call” commissioners are now investigating again from September 13th. First up is Maria Furtwängler as North German investigator Charlotte Lindholm. “Crime Scene: King in Yellow” runs on Sunday at 8:15 p.m. on Erste.
In her 33rd case, the inspector takes her to the fictitious town of Kleinhude in Lower Saxony, a so-called dementia village. There, people with dementia should be able to live as normal and self-determined an everyday life as possible. In this supposedly protected place, Lindholm comes across a mysterious death.
What initially looks like an accident quickly turns into a possible murder case. A resident, Gustav König, is targeted. Chief Inspector Matthias Vogel claims that König murdered seven people over a period of 20 years.
The problem: Vogel himself suffers from dementia and is on leave from work. Lindholm therefore has to find out how seriously she can take his tips. Are Vogel's memories still reliable? Did he actually observe something or is he putting together a story in his head that never happened? The longer she investigates, the more she begins to doubt her own perception.
The fact that Lindholm increasingly shows her sensitive side is convincing and gives the “crime scene” an unusually touching touch. At the same time, the film remains exciting because it remains unclear until the end which memories and perceptions you can actually trust.
When the investigator loses her footing
“The attractive thing is that everything else that characterizes Charlotte or what defines investigators in principle and investigator characters is that she is smarter than the others, that she can combine things more quickly, that this basis is taken away from her,” said actress Maria Furtwängler to the German Press Agency. This unsettles the main character. Normally, Lindholm can rely on her powers of observation and her ability to recognize connections more quickly than others. This unsettles them, but leads to great empathy, said Furtwängler.
An inspector with dementia
Matthias Vogel is played by Andreas Lust. The role was a particular challenge for the actor. “In any case, it was a special task and of course associated with the fear of going into clichés or creating something that did not correspond to reality,” said Lust.
That's why he looked into the topic more intensively. He received support from the Hamburg Alzheimer Society. Before filming, Lust also spoke to people from a self-help group for younger people affected by dementia. It was particularly important for him to get a feel for how the illness can affect everyday life and physically. “This meeting was extremely important in order to have the safe feeling that everything we are saying is true,” said Lust.
25 years of Charlotte Lindholm
For Maria Furtwängler, returning as Charlotte Lindholm is also a look at a character that has accompanied her for a long time. Next year Lindholm will celebrate its 25th anniversary. «I think what has changed a lot over time is that she is so much more tangible, so much more human, and you suddenly feel her warmth. And that perhaps she wasn’t able to express this warmth and humanity in the same way before.”
Even after so many years, the preparation for a new episode for Furtwängler begins with small details. “It starts with the shoes I put on, the ones I typically wear, or a belt. And as soon as I wear it, a Charlotte energy field is created, which is extremely charged.”
A separate opera for the crime scene
Music plays an unusually large role in “King in Yellow”. An opera was composed especially for the film. According to the composers, it was recorded with the NDR Vokalensemble and the Capella St. Crucis Hannover.
Unusually long crime thriller summer break
The new “crime scene” marks the end of an unusually long summer break. Since May 10th, no new episodes of “Tatort” and “Polizeiruf” have been shown on Sunday evenings.
The ARD describes the extended break as an exception for planning reasons. There are no plans to reduce the consequences in the future. According to the broadcaster, the fact that the “crime scene” from the north opens the season was a conscious decision. “King in Yellow” was chosen because of its material. For actress Maria Furtwängler, her return falls on a special day. She will be 60 years old on September 13th.
