At the beginning of this thriller there is an arrest. Batic and Leitmayr arrest the perpetrator, whom they failed to catch in the previous “Tatort” episode “The Truth” that aired in October 2016. In fact, that could be the end of the case. But then the transport to the courtroom gets out of hand. In the end, the prisoner and two police officers are dead, and Batic is also in the hospital with serious injuries. What’s worse, he’s suspected of being behind the murders. Leitmayr does not want to believe that and investigates on his own.
What is left of our life? Wasn’t all the effort in vain? The badly wounded inspector Batic asks himself these existential questions in the hospital. This film shows how little influence we humans have on world events. Nevertheless, a tiny decision can affect the rest of your life.
As much blood flows in this “crime scene” as in a Lower Saxony slaughterhouse, which may be a little disturbing for some on Sunday evening. You see people being stabbed and shot. You see people bleeding to death and badly injured struggling for their lives. This drastic approach was not absolutely necessary.
The clarification of a criminal case is only one facet of this “crime scene” episode. Even more, “Death is our whole life” is about the friendship of two men who have been working together for 26 years. But how well do they really know each other? Leitmayr has to make a decision: will he listen to his gut feeling and continue to believe in the innocence of his colleague Batic? Or does he allow himself to be persuaded by the overwhelming burden of proof?
Be sure to turn it on. This “crime scene” goes far beyond a pure crime story and asks existential life questions.
The “Tatort” episode “Death is our whole life” was first broadcast on April 30, 2017. ARD will repeat the film on Friday, February 24 at 10:20 p.m.
