After a long and fruitful career, a police commissioner retires. The first thing he does is to pack his bags and move. He does not move to the South of France in order to smell the lavender. Instead, he goes to live in another town in Germany, next to an old acquaintance. Many years earlier, he suspected the man of a grisly child murder. Although the case collapsed, the commissioner is still convinced he got the right culprit...
A well-made television movie, "Ein Kommissar kehrt zurück" deals with an ex-commissioner's determination to clear up an old murder. Much of the movie consists of a psychological duel between two intelligent men. By way of collateral damage, other people get drawn into the duel as well, with unforeseen results. Ironically, the breakthrough leading to the solution of the original crime will come not through super-modern technology such as the testing of DNA or the analysis of computer data, but through the use of a good old-fashioned bloodhound.
Both a tragedy and a psychological thriller, "Ein Kommissar" boasts a good plot and agreeably complex characters. The movie treats serious themes such as the maddeningly elusive nature of truth, the difficulty of judging another person's moral essence, and the uncertain distinction between an innocent person with a good lawyer and a guilty person with a good lawyer. Another theme is the undying grief of parents who have lost a child to crime, but wait in vain for justice.
On the whole an admirable work, although it's a pity that some of the actors tend to mumble their lines through clenched teeth.
A well-made television movie, "Ein Kommissar kehrt zurück" deals with an ex-commissioner's determination to clear up an old murder. Much of the movie consists of a psychological duel between two intelligent men. By way of collateral damage, other people get drawn into the duel as well, with unforeseen results. Ironically, the breakthrough leading to the solution of the original crime will come not through super-modern technology such as the testing of DNA or the analysis of computer data, but through the use of a good old-fashioned bloodhound.
Both a tragedy and a psychological thriller, "Ein Kommissar" boasts a good plot and agreeably complex characters. The movie treats serious themes such as the maddeningly elusive nature of truth, the difficulty of judging another person's moral essence, and the uncertain distinction between an innocent person with a good lawyer and a guilty person with a good lawyer. Another theme is the undying grief of parents who have lost a child to crime, but wait in vain for justice.
On the whole an admirable work, although it's a pity that some of the actors tend to mumble their lines through clenched teeth.
