Maarten Jansen (Barry Atsma) is a star in Kassel. The successful talk show host has many – especially female – fans. Privately, the smart presenter is married to Kirsten Rohde-Jansen (Stephanie Eidt). She brought two sons into the marriage: Luke and Max. After a party, the younger of the two, Luke, disappeared without a trace. It soon becomes clear: the 17-year-old was murdered. Frankfurt investigators Anna Janneke (Margarita Broich) and Paul Brix (Wolfram Koch) find the young man’s limbs on a construction site, tied up in black plastic bags. More body parts turn up in Kassel. So Janneke and Brix drive to the northern Hessian city, because it is clear early on: Maarten Jansen is responsible for the death of his stepson. The question now is how and why did Luke Rohde have to die?
The film is extremely tailored to lead actor Barry Atsma and his role as TV star Maarten Jansen. How he captivates the audience while at the same time lying to his family and manipulating the inspectors. The only one who has grown for him is Anna Janneke. She does not allow herself to be dazzled by his celebrity, but treats him as an equal during the interrogation. The psychological duel between the two in the interrogation room is definitely one of the film’s strengths.
Especially at the beginning, the plot jumps back and forth a lot: Both between Frankfurt and Kassel as well as the status of the investigation. This is sometimes confusing and it takes a while to put everything in the correct chronological order. The end and the motive for the murder then seem pretty far-fetched.
Neither of them are very enthusiastic about the fact that Janneke and Brix are to investigate in Kassel. Above all, Brix makes fun of the supposed small town. However, that changes when he meets the LKA employee Constanze Lauritzen (Christina Große). Brix is immediately fascinated by the inspector, who is helping her colleagues in Frankfurt to solve the case. One of Janneke’s greatest strengths in this “crime scene” is her psychological training, thanks to which she allows the perpetrator to fall into a trap.
Since 2015, Janneke and Brix have been investigating as a team in Frankfurt’s “crime scene”. The repetition of this case is well worth seeing.
The “Tatort: Das Monster von Kassel” was first broadcast on May 12, 2019. ARD repeats the case on Friday, August 18, 2023 at 10:20 p.m.
