Lauchhammer

Very hard to get into this one. As a true crime author, I usually love true crime series, especially crimes set in Europe. It was disjointed and not really focused on the murder or the investigation. There were some characters who didn't seem to fit the narrative. Some of the others had too much going on that didn't seem to make any sense with respect to the crime. I had a hard time following the plot line.

I am searching to see if there are any other documentaries about this crime to compare it to, but if not, I would not recommend this one if you are a true crime junkie. You'll know after the first episode of you should keep watching.

I had zero expectations from this show, as I just wanted to pick up some average-looking German show to hone my German skills. 6 episodes, some kind of crime-mistery; why not? I lgenerally like those.

Oh boy, was I in for a great surprise! The whole show is basically a lecture about environment protection. Yes, you guessed it: a teenage girl completely stomps her parents and grandparents, because she's vegan and she hates coal, and she is the future and she's cool, unlike her lame and stupid parents and grandparents. Very cool. I just had one question: what does it have to do with the murder? Let me help you out in advance: nothing. This is pretty much a 6 episode long "coal is bad, meat is bad, save the planet" message, which needed something else going on to stretch the screentime, so throw in a murder, why not! Extremely dumb, extremely condescending. Don't worry, the final reveal about the murder is even worse! I had to pause the show because I had so much second-hand embarassment.

And I'm not even for coal or anything. I support a healthy environment, but either make a series about that, or a murder-mistery. These amateurs fused these in the worst possible way imaginable, which backfired horribly. I don't think I have ever had this much sympathy to evil coal-moguls than after watching this preachy show.

The skeleton of the whole series is bang average as well. Someone died ---> who done it? ---> the plot thickens ---> finale. It's extremely boring and holds no surprises. In fact, we are constantly being introduced to new characters, which absolutely destroys the fun of a show like this: the whole point would be to meet the cast early, and try to figure out who could've been the murderer and why.

The writing is atrocious. There are several sub-plots which go nowhere, gets unresolved, or has a random, unsatisfying endings.

The characters are boring, wooden, and other than the little boy, it's hard to care about them. The only character which was decently written was André. The male protagonist is as interesting as watching a paint try, though he has screen presence, I give him that.

The female lead was pretty much a cheap copy of the lead from The Bridge. She's on the spectrum, has bad social skills, but a great cop. Sadly, this cop is nothing special in her field, and her bad social skils are just awkward without any payoff. I was willing to bet my left leg after the first episode, that these terrible writers will copy the scene from The Bridge, where the detective woman whom they copied here, casually walks into a bar and asks a stranger if he wants to have sex with her. That was really funny in The Bridge. Don't worry, these writers totally butchered it here.

Honestly, I can't give a single reason why anyone should watch this. It does a terrible job at making you care about the environment, in fact, it makes you want to strangle that smug, condescending teenage girl, but it is also an extremely boring and slow murder-mistery with no surprises whatsoever.

This six part series is set in what was a coal mining area of East Germany; now the mining has stopped and there are plans to attract tourists by converting the huge pits into lakes. As the story opens the body of a teenage girl is found on the shore of one of these lakes. Maik Briegand, a local man who now works for the national police force leads to investigation with new partner Annalena Gottknecht. There are quite a few suspects; the homeless man who found the body, her boyfriend, a local policeman who is involved with her mother, a property developer and a group of environmental campaigners based in nearby woods.

I thought this was a solid murder mystery that is told effectively. Key characters are quickly introduced as the investigation gets underway. Good use is made of the fact that this used to be East Germany with older residents missing the certainty of a job in the mine while younger people want nothing to do with polluting coal. There are enough suspects to keep one guessing right till the final reveal. The cast does a solid job. Overall a decent murder mystery set in an interesting location, worth watching if you enjoy the genre.

These comments are based on watching the series in German with English subtitles.

Each episode begins with a melancholy, deep voice, accompanied by images captured in warm yellow tones, ranging from wildly romantic to excerpts of a mysterious murder. The action takes place against the backdrop of a disused coal mine in Lusatia, which symbolizes environmental pollution and the downfall, the past of the GDR. Quote from Lauchhammer: "one of the most expensive disposable items of reunification".

As German productions like to attach great importance to conveying a message, classic old and current clichés are used here once again to raise a warning finger. So you can already guess that we have to deal with East German frustration and the climate stickers, whether we like it or not. Unfortunately, the moral ambitions are usually so high that it sometimes seems overloaded.

Unfortunately, German productions lack the courage to go their own way, so they follow in the footsteps of tried and tested colleagues from abroad. As a result, the two main investigators are made up of a quiet, emphatic man and a mostly newly assigned socially incompetent female colleague, as is currently very popular. He has his roots where the murder took place and has to come to terms with his past. As a result, the story is spread across different timelines and an earlier murder and several social stories are told in parallel. On the one hand, this makes for a multi-layered story, but it also distracts more and more from the actual murder case, which fades into the background.

The story unfolds slowly but builds up the suspense constantly, despite a few "social" gap fillers, some of which drag on a little. There are always enough suspects to keep you guessing until the case is finally solved.

The entire cast does a solid job. Little Dustin, who took my heart by storm, is particularly endearing. Lucas Gregorowic, who I really like, was absolutely convincing in his role. The dialog also stands out positively overall. The technical realization is excellent, capturing a great melancholic mood with a beautiful image and color design. The camera, lighting and editing deserve praise here, they are much better than the average German series.

Unfortunately, the characterization is too negative, clichéd and flat for me. The old East Germans who weep for their GDR, the drug-addicted mother in cheap "Berlin-Marzahn" clothes with a child without a father. And of course the Fridays for Future group of the vegan granddaughter with protests and "forest occupation". This gives the whole series the feel of an environmental protection lecture with a 4.1/2 hour message: "Coal is bad, meat is bad, save the planet". Which is basically not a bad thing if you don't just keep asking yourself the question, "Who else was the murder victim?"

------------- Conclusion:

So-so - For fans of German crime thrillers, this is a high-quality production worth seeing that stands out from the classic Tatort, is multi-layered and wonderfully shot.

An intriguing post-GDR thriller with a good, though depressing, atmosphere. After a girl is murdered the plot slowly develops towards a rather unexpected end. The former GDR political culture is nicely intertwined with the current atmosphere in the former Eastern Germany and with the former coal industry there. An intelligent crime story that at times may get you a little lost, but always timely returns on to the right track. If you're into crime mystery, intrigue within a depressing atmosphere that seems to hold no hope for anyone, then this is definitely for you. Do not expect a fast paced thriller. The story needs six episodes to unfold. Photography, dialogues, acting and scenario are decent, not special, but good enough. The only aspects that seems out of place are some of the theme songs. O right, the scenes filmed in driving cars are technically very poor. Not every series can have 10 stars.