In Munich, a dealer is rammed in the stomach with a knife in broad daylight and dies shortly afterwards in the arms of Commissioner Ivo Batic (Miroslav Nemec). The killer, Giuseppe Mauro (Emiliano De Martino), is a member of the ‘Ndrangheta mafia group and is going into hiding. He finds shelter with the Modica family in Dortmund, who run an Italian restaurant there. The Dortmund investigators led by Peter Faber (Jörg Hartmann) targeted this because it is suspected of being a hub for cocaine.
So suddenly the Munich investigators Batic and Leitmayr (Udo Wachtveitl) are in the Dortmund police station. While they want to arrest the murderer, Faber insists on continuing the investigation against the family – to get to the backers. He wants to recruit Juliane Modica (Antje Traue), the wife of the restaurant owner, as a spy – and in doing so he puts the entire family in danger.
The mafia is still active in Germany. Investigating authorities estimate that almost 300 members of the ‘Ndragheta family are in Germany, and around 300 pizzerias are assigned to the organization nationwide. How the mafia proceeds, how its network weaves its way into individual families and destroys them from within – this is shown with great precision in this “crime scene”, staged by the experienced team of Bernd Lange (script) and Dominik Graf (director).
Anyone who expected something cheerful in view of the 50th anniversary of the crime series will be disappointed: “In der Familie” has become a grim case that does little to brighten the mood.
The atmosphere in the Dortmund police station is tense: Faber and his colleague Martina Bönisch (Anna Schudt) are deeply at odds about how to proceed with the investigation. The crack runs through the entire team. Faber is also not particularly happy about the arrival of his colleagues from Munich – and only calls them “Punch and Seppel”. They take revenge – by letting the BVB cup go with them from the area.
Not just because 50 years is such a nice anniversary: the first part of the double episode “In der Familie” is an above-average “crime scene”. Also worth repeating.
The “Tatort” episode “In der Familie (1)” was first broadcast on November 29, 2020. ARD repeats the case on Friday, November 11, at 10:50 p.m.
