Borowski among headbangers
In Wacken, everything is gearing up for the highlight of the year, but the festival warm-up is marred by a terrible discovery. "Borowski und das unschuldige Kind von Wacken" is a solid "Tatort" episode for the 20th anniversary of Borowski, but unfortunately the metal as such comes up a little short.
What happens?
A dead infant is found on the edge of a parking lot near Kiel, and the pathologist discovers that the baby had a life-threatening birth defect - and a skull injury that could have been caused by a fall or a blow. Via an admission wristband that the forensics team finds near the crime scene, Mila Sahin (Amila Bagriacik) and her squad end up in the middle of the town of Wacken, where local residents, the huge festival team and the first arriving metal fans are preparing for the legendary open-air festival. Even Borowski (Axel Milberg), who is on vacation, can't resist, breaks off his summer vacation in his camper van and joins the investigation team on site.
In the heart of Headbangistan, of course, the people who at least seem suspicious are quickly found: Lenny Jensen (Nicolas Dinkel), the metal podcaster on the loose, Kurt Stindt (Andreas Döhler), who redecorates his inn as a metal pub every year, his wife Sarah (Anja Schneider), whose liver sausage prices in her organic barn are at least suspicious. Or does young Jan (Marven Gabriel Suarez-Brinkert) have something to do with the crime? Fittingly, his mother Meike (Bärbel Schwarz) runs a small funeral home - and seems to have something on Kurt Stindt.
What is it really about?
Inspector Borowski is celebrating his 20th anniversary - and to mark the occasion there is a neat, one could almost say long overdue country trip to the dazzling parallel cosmos of Wacken. Of course, it provides plenty of motifs worth filming, such as the stage set-up and the arrival atmosphere. Wacken master Thomas Jensen also makes a guest appearance - but the event itself could just as easily take place at Kieler Woche, a scrapyard in Lütjenburg or on the beach at Falckenstein, even if the festival naturally offers plenty of eye-candy.
Zapping away moment?
The way Borowski demonstrates right at the beginning how easy it is to drop something is a classic misanthropic move that makes you want to send the inspector on vacation again, preferably with a one-way ticket. Apart from that, metalheads are sure to find plenty of arguments to turn off the TV and put on Maiden, Priest or Doro instead. The generic festival posters with the imaginary bands, the tour posters with the same ones, the moderation text of Lenny's podcast that looks like it was created by a freeware AI, the metal dancers (!) - as is so often the case, good intentions do not equal good work.
Wow factor?
Wackeeeeeen!
How was it?
7 out of 10 points - solid entertainment that would have benefited from a little more interest in metal itself.
After discovering the crime scene, Mila's team watches various TV series for potential leads, including a popular ARD thriller. One evening, they stumble upon an episode featuring a similar case, sparking new theories. During their investigation, they visit a local TV studio where a popular metal podcast is recorded, hoping to gather more information.
Source: www.ntv.de
