Das Geheimnis des Lebens

TV Movie
2002
1h 30m

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Genetic biologist KATHARINA KLUGE, short-listed for a Nobel Prize, has realized the dangers inherent in cloning. Appointed to the "National Ethics Council" by the German government, her job ... Read allGenetic biologist KATHARINA KLUGE, short-listed for a Nobel Prize, has realized the dangers inherent in cloning. Appointed to the "National Ethics Council" by the German government, her job is to supervise the creation of a catalog of guidelines. To work on it undisturbed, Kathar... Read allGenetic biologist KATHARINA KLUGE, short-listed for a Nobel Prize, has realized the dangers inherent in cloning. Appointed to the "National Ethics Council" by the German government, her job is to supervise the creation of a catalog of guidelines. To work on it undisturbed, Katharina withdraws to a vacation home. There she is attacked by masked men who force her to eat... Read all

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IMDb RATING

5.5/10

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7unbrokenmetal

Deadly secret

"Das Geheimnis des Lebens" (literally: The Secret of Life) tells the story of the scientist Dr Kluge (Désirée Nosbusch) who rejects an offer to take part in an illegal cloning experiment. Because she knows too much, she is chased by unknown killers. The police believe Dr Kluge to be a murderer herself, though! Without any help, she is on the run and tries to find out more about the forbidden experiments in the Netherlands and Italy, until she makes an astonishing discovery...

Since genetics are a science nobody really knows much about, anyway, the TV movie used that merely as a backdrop for a solid crime story: chasing killers while the hero is the main suspect, that plot sounds familiar, but it's well done. The police have to make a huge effort to find out which traces are faked and who they can trust. Nosbusch is great in the demanding lead role. Supporting are G.M. Halmer as the police inspector, Jenny Deimling as his assistant - and she has to work hard for some recognition, a relationship well developed in the script - plus Italian veteran actor Orso Maria Guerrini ("Keoma", anyone?) as the cardinal.

Finally, I have (jokingly) to point out the film is breaking an unwritten law. When one villain standing on a roof is shot, he doesn't fall off the roof - he just lies down on the roof to die. Hey! I mean, they always fall down, doesn't anybody watch westerns?