There is a lot of excitement in a small village near Magdeburg: Jurij has disappeared. He was the sore thumb in town. Loved by women, despised by many men. Because he was a free spirit, an artist of life who cheated his way through without having to work. Although his car is found full of blood, there is no trace of Yuri. Investigators Brasch (Claudia Michelsen) and Köhler (Matthias Matschke) have many suspects who they believe are capable of committing a crime, but they face a dilemma that a villager puts it during interrogation: “No corpse, no murder. No murder, no murderer “.
This case is particularly worthwhile because of its depiction of the village cosmos. Some associate it with quality of life and rural idyll. For others, this world is small-minded and cramped. “No hustle and bustle, lots of nature. A peaceful place to live,” enthuses Commissioner Dirk Koehler about the settlement. His colleague Brasch sees the place very differently: “You’re not looking properly. Do you hear the laughter of children playing here?” Director Philipp Leinemann makes it clear which side he is on: he shows the village as a haven for small-minded people, full of mediocre people who bully anyone who is different. On a visual level, he emphasizes this: there are no pretty flower gardens, no quirky farmers and no crowing rooster. Instead structurally unimaginative suburb and industrial agriculture. An interesting contrast to the rural kitschyness shown in many television films.
“Mörderische Dorfgemeinschaft” relies heavily on atmosphere, which clearly comes at the expense of tension. One can confidently describe this film as “poor in plot”. In addition, the surprise is limited at the end: the title alone gives a clue as to who could be behind Jurij’s disappearance.
This time the focus is on Doreen Brasch: She suffers from her loneliness, but cannot bring herself to confess to the police psychologist Wilke. She chooses the non-committal affair instead of the committed relationship – and stays alone. Her boss Uwe Lemp (Felix Vörtler) encourages her: “In the end we all just want to be loved.” His words remain – for the time being – without effect.
Anyone who has already seen this case can save themselves the repetition.
The “Polizeiruf” episode “Mörderische Dorfgemeinschaft” was first broadcast on August 11, 2019. ARD repeats this case on Friday, August 5 at 10:15 p.m.
