TV outlook
Sex in the driving school car – the new “Marie Brand” crime thriller
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First a scooter falls from a bridge into the depths. A short time later a dead woman follows. The case gives ZDF investigators a theory test in driving school and the audience good dialogues and wisdom.
Perhaps the best dialogue in the entire film comes only a few minutes before the end. The murder investigation in the Cologne police station is still in full swing and the audience can puzzle along as to whether investigator Marie Brand is currently questioning the person who committed the crime.
“I finally felt something again,” says the person. “What’s wrong with that?” There is only a very short but noticeable pause before Brand replies: “How many arrests will it take before you answer the question yourself?”
The inspector (Mariele Millowitsch) and her colleague Jürgen Simmel (Hinnerk Schönemann) have to solve the murder of the British Alice Taylor in the episode “Marie Brand and the dead au pair” on Wednesday evening (8:15 p.m.) on ZDF. The young woman falls off a bridge right at the beginning of the new episode.
The strange thing: The scooter on which she was probably traveling crashes onto the sidewalk below in front of the young woman. It quickly becomes clear: This could not have been an accident.
The investigation takes the police to a car repair shop and a driving school, into the orbit of teenage love and jealousy, and to a counseling center for girls and women who have been sexually harassed.
The single father (Mohamed Achour), who hired Alice Taylor as an au pair for his almost grown daughter (Saron Degineh), behaves suspiciously. Meanwhile, the young person says that her initially friendly relationship with the specially hired guardian changed over time: “She was paid for everything. I was her job.”
The audience sees scenes in which the driving instructor (Alexandra Schalaudek) and the mechanic (Timo Jacobs) first use the driving school car for sex and then make illegal plans. There are also two break-ins and a sneaky attack with a fire extinguisher. And to make matters worse, the victim’s cell phone is missing.
Keep track of that? Author Timo Berndt and director Christine Repond succeed in not letting the story get too confusing, unraveling the situation bit by bit and keeping the tension until the end.
Simmel fails the theory test
They also garnish the 36th episode of the series with the “Marie Brand”-typical dialogues between the inspectors. When the investigator asks Simmel how things used to go with the girls, he replies: “It’s like asking Romeo about all the Juliets.”
Even when the driving instructor asks him to take the theory test, the inspector is seized by his honor and joins in for fun: “I’ve been driving a car for 100 years.” He had only recently responded to a comment from his colleague about parking: “You know what, Ms. Brand, whining passengers quickly become lame pedestrians.” Result of the exam: Failed with all bangs and trumpets.
The highly talented chief inspector and her slightly shirtless colleague have been investigating on ZDF since 2008. They always give the Mainz station good ratings. On average, between six and nine million people watch the first broadcasts. And this time the audience learns a piece of wisdom from forensic investigator Tina Schmitz (Stephanie Kämmer) at the crime scene: “Paint splinters are the fingerprints of a car.”
dpa
Source: Stern

I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.