The Kiel commissioners Klaus Borowski (Axel Milberg) and Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) are dealing with a terrible accident: a cyclist is pushed in front of a truck by a passer-by and dies. To find out more, investigators ask around at the nearby vocational school. They meet the teenager Celina Lüppertz (Caroline Cousin). A little later, Borowski himself lies in the parking lot of a hospital, covered in blood and badly injured. The commissioner was knocked down and placed in front of the clinic. By whom, he no longer knows. He also only dimly remembers everything that happened before the crime: smells, noises, scraps of words. In the hospital, Borowski suddenly receives calls from a girl named Finja. She claims to be Celina Lüppertz’s younger sister. She kidnapped her and wants to hurt her, Finja asks Borowski for help. When Mila Sahin (Almila Bagriacik) finds the two girls’ grandmother stabbed, the question arises as to what danger Celina poses: did she knock down Borowski, kill her grandmother and now want to do something to her sister too?
The screenwriters Eva and Volker A. Zahn tell the crime story from an interesting perspective: Borowski solves the case exclusively on the phone. What initially sounds quite one-dimensional was solved in a surprisingly exciting way. Officially, the commissioner is on sick leave and is in the hospital. There he is now investigating between clinic corridors, flower shop and boiler room. In fact, the only means of contact he has with Celina Lüppertz is his cell phone. The viewer only hears her voice – and has to rely on Borowski’s qualities at the end of the line. Sometimes it works better, sometimes not so well. “You sound like a shitty social worker,” Celina snaps at him in one scene. Using calls, messages and short videos, Borowski tries to find access to the young woman in order to reconstruct the events. Little by little, the inspector regains his memories – and the viewers learn what happened.
Abuse, violence and betrayal: these are not exactly easy topics that the film deals with in 90 minutes. The focus is on the main suspect Celina Lüppertz and her story. You learn about the ordeal she had to go through and tries to find an explanation for her actions. However, access to the girl remains superficial, which is certainly also due to the fact that you hardly get to see her as a viewer.
It is a case with reversed roles: Borowski is demoted to an assistant due to illness and Mila Sahin takes over the lead of the investigation. However, she does not succeed in doing so with confidence. Borowski still does the actual work – in his pajamas and slippers in the hospital. He also has time for a little flirtation with the patient Maren Puttkammer (Sophie von Kessel), who sneaks into his room and philosophizes about death with him.
In 2025, Axel Milberg will say goodbye to his role as Commissioner Klaus Borowski. This case is one of his stronger ones. Switching on is worthwhile.
The Kiel commissioners Borowski and Sahin also investigated in these cases: