It's getting international again: The German-Polish investigative team led by Maria Simon and Lucas Gregorowicz in the border area near Frankfurt an der Oder has to solve a murder. Without much excitement, inspectors Lenski and Raczek go to work in "Police Call 110: The Sikorska Case" and first investigate different leads, only to find each other again at the end of the film.
What seems a bit constructed and intentional at first glance, develops into an interesting plot that outshines many other crime novels of the last few years - maybe also because of its simplicity at one point or another. But - as always - first things first…
This is it
The 19-year-old Paula Borchert is rescued dead from the Oder. Inspector Olga Lenski and her colleague Adam Raczek take over the investigation. Paula had only recently been employed by Leo Heise as an au pair. Leo is a single father and lives with his two young children in the house of his parents Katarzyna and Gerd Heise. Paula, who didn't take her au pair job very seriously, was outgoing and had become friends with Milena and her boyfriend Marcin.
During their research, the investigators come across an old case involving the Heise family: Julia Sikorska, daughter of Katarzyna and stepdaughter of Gerd Heise, disappeared 15 years ago. To this day there is no sign of life from her. Pawel Sikorski, Julia's biological father, has since suspected Gerd Heise of sexually assaulting Julia. Olga and Adam have to clarify whether the disappearance of Julia Sikorska is related to the death of Paula Borchert…
Is it worth turning on?
What makes a good crime novel? Deep inspectors? An intriguing case? Unpredictable developments during the film? A surprise ending? Or maybe just an interesting, simple story with minor twists, solid actors and down-to-earth staging? Of course it's all a matter of taste, but if you can at least answer the last question with yes - and are less into experimental crime films, you should at least tune in on Sunday evening.
"The Sikorska Case" doesn't bring much that is new and yet it's a pleasure to watch for 90 minutes, which is probably exactly why. The plot has been told hundreds of times: murder in the vicinity of a well-to-do family in a pompous villa, the police investigate and discover that the superficially intact facade has quite a few cracks. But does the perpetrator come from the family or is it a friend of the killed girl? Sounds boring at first, and yet the new "Police call 110" is surprisingly entertaining. Sometimes what is familiar is convincing. So: Switch it on!
