In THE NAMELESS DAY
Just a moment, please.
It's the shoes! Can you get it?
Ms. Anja Ring? - Anja! - Yes?
Turn off the music.
My name is Jakob Franck, I'm a detective.
Should we have a seat?
I have some sad news for you.
No.
No, no.
The dead don't observe the day of the dead.
They come whenever they please.
They stay the night.
They care nothing for my retired status.
I chose to rise to high office in their service.
No one comes back from their world untouched with dreamless nights.
Welcome, you're my first customer this fine Monday.
Where would you like to go?
Mrs. Wolf, my name is Jakob Franck, I'm a detective.
I have some sad news.
It makes no difference if I work in precinct 7 as a murder detective
or if I stay at home as a newly divorced ex-househusband.
Is there someone I can call for you? A psychologist maybe?
My colleagues still ask me to deliver the message.
They're aware that inexperience towards the victim's relatives
yields clumsy stoicism or fake empathy.
Hello.
Which of you is Mr. Hoffman?
My name is Jakob Franck, I'm a detective.
Is this your wife?
Yep, and?
Mr. Hoffman, I have some sad news.
Okay, just a sec.
Mr. Hoffman, your wife had an accident.
Can you please look at me?
Yes, and? - Your wife was hit by a truck.
She is dead.
Iris?
I'll get to it. Please, have a seat, Mr...
- Franck. - A beer?
Thanks, not while working. - You call that work?
- Yes, I do. - Fine.
One day, while investigating a case,
I came to a dead end.
I closed the door to my room, lay down on my back,
and I let my thoughts wander.
Gradually, I began seeing puzzle pieces of the case
playing out like a film on the ceiling
To recognize the truth,
I had to forget being a detective.
I had to forget everything I'd learned...
to trust my senses.
Franck here.
Hello? Franck here.
Hello?
- Franck? - Winther.
I have some bad news for you.
I remember your name.
Winther.
It's been a few years.
Two years.
I have some sad news for you.
You always said that, right?
I have to tell you my wife is dead.
Excuse me?
My wife, Doris.
Hanged, from a tree.
In our garden.
I'm sorry to hear that. - It's your fault, detective.
First Esther.
Now her mother.
Failure up and down.
You, detective, and your police! - Come in first.
That picture, it fits you.
My wife found it just bearable.
The image seems familiar.
Esther? Esther!
Esther.
No one offered her support, the poor thing.
Seventeen.
Seventeen rumbles overhead. Seventeen.
Seventeen?
She didn't grow any older.
What do you want from me? - The news of her death.
You told my wife back then... - Yes.
I did.
You spoke to her.
Not to me. - What would you have told me?
That it was murder!
I'm retired.
I already was back then.
It was murder.
14th of February.
I was in Bochum on the 14th of February.
At a training.
"Serving Argumentative Customers."
The police called me. Not my wife.
Could you imagine?
My little one was already in the morgue.
Hanged, but not herself!
Blood vessels burst by the rope.
There are also hematomas on both upper arms.
I conclude no extraneous influences.
Esther wasn't a sad child.
She wasn't depressed.
She was desperate.
No one made her do it.
Why didn't you call me?
You chose not to have a cell phone. - That's ridiculous!
The police tracked me down!
You must apprehend the murderer.
Bring him to justice.
Thank you for coming.
I'll make some coffee.
Mr. & Mrs. Winther?
I know you need some time, but I would like to talk to you soon.
There's nothing to talk about.
Come along Ludwig.
You will not talk to him.
Not a word.
You'll just talk too much.
- Sandra? - Pardon...
I just wanted to say I'm very sorry.
Thank you. Come in.
I was shocked when I heard.
Of course.
Because I wasn't surprised.
She's been so different lately.
Once she said, "I can't anymore."
When I asked what's going on, she fell silent.
When she left, I had a terrible feeling.
That's nonsense.
Our Esther never would have hurt herself.
What are you saying?
You're lying! - I just wanted to say...
You're lying! Get out!
Lies, all lies! Go away!
Now Doris has killed herself.
The same way our daughter was killed. - Tell me about your daughter.
She was...
pretty.
Long blond hair.
Affectionate.
Affectionate like her mother was,
back when she was young.
You maintain that your daughter was a happy child.
Yes.
I don't believe you.
You have to believe me.
I know that everything in the case file is wrong.
She never would have taken her own life, never!
Sure, there were rough patches,
I was afraid I wouldn't manage, once she was born.
Without a diploma, but then I got the job, men's section.
A low-interest loan.
We bought the house.
A deal, thanks to first-refusal rights. We had everything.
Here you are.
I don't smoke and someone left these.
Thanks.
Let's imagine there was a murderer.
Who could it have been?
It was Dr. Jordan.
The dentist across the street from us.
It's all in the file.
They interviewed him, but never followed up.
Esther was over there often. Because of Patrick.
He had relations with minors.
My wife knew about it.
How do you know?
- Come again? - How did you know?
Esther told me. - Your daughter told you?
Yes, but I was too dumb to get it, my wife too.
I didn't really understand what she meant.
What did she say exactly?
She said there's a guy she didn't like
but he's really nice
and kind.
Bye. Sleep well.
See you.
And did you confront him?
Doris didn't want me to.
- Why not? - Well...
Doris is a patient of his, and she was ashamed.
She hated me for suspecting him.
Why would he have killed Esther?
Because she wanted to expose him. - Oh, and she could have?
The guy is smooth.
He's extremely deliberate.
He's scared someone might catch on.
He rendezvoused with her in the park, probably.
You know how it is,
how young people meet up.
Then he tied her up.
And then he...
And people point at me with their fingers.
Your wife was convinced that your daughter took her own life.
She must have had her reasons.
There... There was no reason!
She imagined it all.
And he's still got his practice and earns millions.
The reports say that my colleagues
didn't find any signs of violent interference.
But I saw it with my own eyes!
I saw the bruises on her arms!
Why didn't you pursue him back then?
Are you protecting him?
First, I wasn't on the case,
second, I don't believe in conspiracies.
This came to an end rather abruptly.
Am I making you uncomfortable?
Yes, leave. It's late.
What will you do next?
The evidence is rather thin, but I'll have a look at it.
You must!
I'm sorry about your wife.
You have no right to mourn her!
I have some bad news for you.
May I come in?
Yes, please.
Detective Franck.
What is it?
Should we have a seat in the living room?
What is it?
Don't you want to go to the living room?
I want to know right here.
I have to tell you your daughter is dead.
Tell me it isn't true.
She was found yesterday evening.
In the park. In a tree.
Hanged.
What time is it now?
Eleven.
My God.
How long have we been standing here?
My colleagues will find out the truth.
Not you?
I'm not responsible for the investigation.
They sent you ahead.
Yes.
To bring the bad news.
Yes.
- To hold people. - No.
Where is your husband?
Don't you want to tell him?
He'll find out soon enough.
He'll be home tomorrow.
Just in time for the funeral.
- Will you come? - No.
Please come.
And say, "Return, O children of men."
“For you, a thousand years are...”
How was your talk with the mother?
She kept composed.
Lucky.
My condolences.
Funerals aren't useful.
But you do get to see everyone involved in a case.
True.
Sandra, the best friend.
But she didn't tell her anything, supposedly.
It's the second student suicide this year, and it's only February.
I know.
Be glad you don't have children.
I don't know.
Thank you for coming.
This is my sister.
Inga Nemetzki.
She lives in Berlin.
She was Esther's favorite aunt.
- Patrick! - Hey, out of the way!
Patrick, come along.
Give me that skateboard. What did I tell you?
Catch!
Sorry!
Awesome!
Yeah, huh?
Are you serious? - Hey, Issa, it's not so bad!
Try to get over it.
It'll be over soon and things will be great.
- Check this out! - Yeah...
Yeah!
Come on, don't look so sad.
I can't stand your sad face.
- Hey. - Hey.
We coulda done it!
Damn it, Esther!
We coulda done it!
Good morning.
Look at you!
So pale! What's the matter, Jakob?
Nothing...
Well, an old case is on my heels.
That's why you've got your venerable briefcase.
I wanted to ask if you've got plans for the weekend.
Why?
Do you remember a few years ago...
a seventeen-year-old hanged herself in the park.
Yes.
You were the one who had to bring her mother the terrible news.
- Yes. - I've never understood
why you have to be the one.
My colleagues are always busy.
I've got plenty of time.
It's still a strain on you.
In this case, yes.
I don't know if I told you back then... - What?
I had never done anything like that before.
Embracing a stranger like that.
For hours.
For hours?
And now this woman,
the mother,
just committed suicide.
Because of you?
What, no!
Then why does it bother you?
Did you know her?
That's hardly knowing someone.
You know what, let's get dinner this weekend.
Call me, I'll be home.
I might have to go to Berlin.
Because of this woman?
Her sister lives there. Want to come?
Not for an old case. You're in this one alone.
Oh my goodness.
I come to unload here and I completely forget it's your birthday.
Happy birthday! Flowers are on their way. - It's okay.
"Unload."
You always said that before too,
before you'd had enough!
It was for different reasons back then.
- Bye. - Bye.
Did you really do everything you could?
I don't mean to criticize
but this supposed suicide's mother just hanged herself.
I know.
You want to rope me into it?
That expression wasn't necessary.
Don't ever bother me again with closed cases.
I'm not sure it's closed.
Don't get burned, Franck. You're no longer police.
May I introduce you?
Chief Detective Jakob Franck.
Some of you may remember:
he had a special method to solve cases, you can't learn at the academy.
Really, with astonishingly good results.
Everyone has their method, it's nothing to write home about.
Don't be so modest.
When a case is going nowhere, he lies down and stares at the ceiling
until he falls deep asleep... - That's it.
And when I wake up I know "who done it," like pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
So, towards the end, the girl was seen running around with a black wig on?
The Goth scene.
A sorry bunch.
You eat here every day?
It relaxes me.
- An order of fries. - Thank you.
- And a kebab, enjoy. - Thanks.
Dr. Jordan isn't mentioned in the file?
He wasn't a suspect for long.
Jordan supposedly had relations with young women,
with school-aged girls even.
Are you short on things to do?
Under this tree, a stranger's footprints were found.
There had to be someone else there.
They could be from before.
Listen, there were microfibers from the rope on her hands.
She tied the noose herself.
"I'm leaving. I don't want to see you anymore."
What's this?
That doesn't belong in there.
It's from the mother.
No, I might need this.
- See you next time. - Bye.
Hello, my name is Jakob Franck. I would like to talk to Dr. Jordan.
I've got an appointment for you.
But where do I quench my thirst? - What?
What heart, what god could have the depth of the sea for me?
Nothing in this world! - What world then?
Nothing in the other world that lives up to my expectations.
This is getting embarrassing.
Come on, let's go. This is embarrassing.
What do you see in this picture?
A severe mouth.
That's how she was.
Not easy to get to know her.
She had problems with her dad, all the time.
Phony bastard.
We talked about it in class, about Esther and her issues with him.
Did you get to know her?
Nothing sex related.
We have some testimonies, from students...
They were jealous of our fun and games.
We have student testimonies...
Jealous of our games.
Games?
Don't you get it? Lucifer and so on.
Esther always wanted to be special.
A fallen angel, but she didn't fit the bill.
Everything seems so complicated.
But it's all so easy.
- That's dumb to say. - Why?
This night is oppressive like the pain of man.
I still live. - That sounds like a threat.
Why? - "I still live."
I should have gained the impossible.
I searched for it at the end of the world, at the limits of myself.
I like that.
We went to the movies a couple of times.
We fooled around maybe, but...
Did you go to her funeral?
No idea.
You don't know if you went to her funeral?
Was she the only one to kill herself at your school?
What kind of question is that? - Do you remember?
No. - Esther Winther was the only one?
The only what? - The only suicide!
I don't get it.
If she was the only one, then you must have definitely talked about it.
Oh, right. Yes, of course. - Good.
Why did she go to the movies with you? - What?
Did she want something from you? - Her, from me?
A relationship, perhaps?
Maybe, no, I didn't want one.
But you had sex with her.
Yes.
I have to go. Thanks for the coffee.
For you.
What for?
Check, please.
What have I got to do with her death?
You knew Esther and she never told you anything?
That guy, her dad, didn't let her do anything.
She wanted to go to a party, "No!"
She wanted to stay over with a friend, "No!"
When we did go out, he'd come and pick her up.
No black clothing.
No dying her hair.
And if she ever drank a sip, there was big trouble.
She was beaten, even grown up as she was.
He was that kind of guy.
And Esther?
She never defended herself. Why not?
No one knew. And her mother...
also commits suicide.
What a family?!
Where were you the afternoon that Esther killed herself?
At the movies, maybe. I don't know.
Talk to the old man, he knows for sure.
Our parents said he didn't just hit her.
Got that?
Your parents said so? - Everyone said so.
And if she hanged herself because of him, I'll kill him.
Detective!
I want you to stop your investigation.
One should let the dead rest in peace.
Excuse me? - Sorry for bothering you with it,
but the way you are handling it, you won't find much.
Here, for the trouble.
Keep it.
I'm not really investigating, just...
It's just a favor, since you asked so emphatically.
It's a private matter now.
You're off the case.
Your wife left you a message.
No, she left me nothing!
"I'm leaving. I don't want to see you anymore."
Um, oh...
A single sentence on a note.
After 20 years of marriage, you call that a message.
Why didn't she want to see you anymore?
I don't know.
She was delusional.
You're off the case!
I forbid you to investigate further.
When Esther wanted anything, she'd go to her father.
Before, we always discussed things, the three of us. It was nice.
Then no longer.
Since when?
Who did you become in your room?
You won't believe it, they're moving up in the league.
What are you doing to Esther?
Answer.
What are you talking about? - Is it true...
that with Esther...
That I what?
That you...
That I...?
You know.
What are you on about?
That you force her to do things she doesn't want.
Esther?
I wanted to talk to you.
Nothing to talk about.
I never made you do things
that you didn't want to do...
Good night.
"I'm leaving.
I don't want to see you anymore."
Without painting, we wouldn't know how others see the world.
Differently than us.
If we sit a few painters in front of the same landscape, each paints his own.
Next week, I'll bring more examples.
That's enough for today, thank you.
Why are you lurking about here?
We agreed to meet in the cafe.
Well, come in.
I'm sorry.
I only knew your sister briefly.
Thank you.
This is my lunch.
Interesting job.
You think so?
You're a painter.
Once upon a time.
But you're still pursuing your passion.
Like you as a messenger of death.
You know about that?
My sister told me.
Why do you do it?
I get asked a lot.
To take strangers in your arms?
She told you that, too?
You were there for her more than he was.
- You mean Ludwig Winther? - Yes.
The first time I saw him was a few days before the wedding.
I wondered, why him?
Most couples are hard to fathom.
What do you want from me?
Your sister was a rather quiet person.
Withdrawn.
Not shy.
Esther inherited the trait and simultaneously rebelled against it.
That's why I'm here.
How was Esther?
She visited me often.
But how she was...
I had no idea.
Did she always come to Berlin alone?
Yes, always alone.
Never with a friend?
Did she have a boyfriend?
I suggested she bring someone along, but most likely...
she didn't want trouble from him.
Do you always refer to your brother-in-law in the third person?
He is a third person.
I think Esther hid a lot from me, too.
She surely had a boyfriend.
He came to me at the funeral.
A strange boy.
Lanky guy, black suit.
Josef, Jakob...
I don't remember his name. - Jan.
Jan Roland.
Could be.
He claims Esther was abused by her father.
No.
What are you saying? No!
Not by her father.
That boy said,
that there's a guy, in his thirties.
That they would meet up and
have sex and he would forced her to do stuff.
I can still see his smirk.
I didn't believe a word he said.
He seemed to think he was a big shot.
It's all absurd.
"A man forced her to have sex."
Did you ask him why Esther didn't defend herself and go to the police?
How did he even know about it?
Did she tell him that?
That's what it sounded like.
So you don't know for sure. - No.
I couldn't ask Esther anymore.
Now, leave, please.
I believe you have more to tell me about Esther.
I've told you what I know.
She'd come to visit, we'd see the city, and she would go home.
She always wanted to go to the train station alone.
It was her big adventure.
That's something you didn't say!
But it says something about your niece.
That she wanted to be independent. - True.
She always wanted to go to America.
Her parents never would have paid for it.
Which is understandable,
a trouser-monger doesn't earn much.
I want to ask you something!
Why did you believe Esther's father abused her?
Jan Roland accused him of it.
I can no longer be sure Esther wasn't alone at her time of death.
You're still hiding something from me.
It's nothing the police need to know.
Travel safely.
I want to go away too.
Far away and never come back.
Finish high school at least.
Dad say's I'll never pass.
Of course you'll pass.
You can always travel afterwards.
When you came to Berlin, didn't you miss Mom?
Yes, very much.
It's impossible actually to separate twins.
As if we had one heart and one soul.
And then?
Your mom changed a lot.
Wearing an apron all the time?
I mean her inner self.
Her view on the world, that it's getting more dangerous.
The securities are no longer worth anything.
He can't do anything about it.
He doesn't even understand it.
Still, he got you that leather jacket, a phone...
You have to understand that they can't pay for an expensive trip.
Other parents can.
I don't know how they manage.
I would like to work too,
but I can't find a job.
At least not here.
I have no skills.
When we get out there, we get to the metro. - Good.
Is it even worthwhile to study art?
Of course, all the basics, the techniques.
You can do whatever you want with it.
And how do I apply?
With a portfolio.
But I'll help you. You just need sketches.
But I don't need a high school diploma?
You don't, but finish school anyway.
I'll have more time for the portfolio.
Hello?
Mr. Franck, you left your notebook.
Yes.
I did indeed.
Should I come get it? - Not now, I'm not in.
Meet me tonight at Café Moritzplatz. It's at the metro exit.
You can't miss it. Around 9.
Thanks.
Now, don't accuse me of reading your notes.
Just illustrated them.
Want go get a bite?
Not for now. Maybe a dry red wine?
Jutta?
One house wine, and one more of these.
He's here because of Esther.
He thinks it was murder. - I told you so.
Thank you, Ms. Nemetzki.
You can call me Inge.
I will, Inge,
on the condition you call me Mr. Franck.
Oh?
Well, Mr. Franck.
- Will do. Cheers. - Cheers, Inge.
Very flattering, the belly is flat.
Just a scribble. - You're talented.
Thanks, it'll do for night school.
Murder or suicide, what do you think?
She's on our consciences anyway.
You can't get over it...
Elementary my dear Franck.
- She was very young. - Yes.
Esther.
My Doris, my sister...
I'm the first person she showed her poetry to.
Where her talent came from was anybody's guess.
She had it and she used it.
When she wrote, she felt whole.
I envied her for it.
One more.
As children, we were close.
Our mom was gone a lot.
"Got outta there."
As she would say, sometimes for days.
And we would sit in the kitchen and hold hands.
When mom would come back,
she would make us pancakes.
I can still smell it, cinnamon and apples.
- Jutta, check! - No.
I'll get it.
May I accompany you?
I'm alright.
And you, Mr. Franck?
Where are you off to?
To my hotel.
Do you have a family?
No, I've been alone for ten years. - Me too.
What's this about?
I'm not Doris.
- I'm taking you home. - No way.
What do you want from me?
A picture.
A picture of your sister.
I would like you to paint one...
Here's a shot on the house.
- Nothing but water for you. - Ok.
Good idea.
Did your sister...
ever give a sign?
Strange behavior?
No. That's just it.
She suddenly stopped writing.
Did you go to her funeral?
It was horrible.
Only Winther was there and two friends.
Such loneliness!
There...
That's when I realized...
It was an accusation.
A cry out.
I was eighteen when I left for Berlin.
I couldn't stand it anymore.
She stayed.
Married early, had a child.
That's how it was back then.
But why a trouser-monger?
Did you ever talk about it?
Over and over.
She only ever said: "My life is mine,
and yours is yours. I don't question it."
When did you last see her?
She came just before her death.
Even at the station she didn't say anything.
She just hugged me.
That was the last time I saw her.
I shouldn't have left her alone.
Not back then...
and not now.
Where are you just getting in from?
Esther!
Stay here!
What are you doing? At that murder's place?!
You'll never finish high school!
Your mother is getting worried!
Um... won't have a microwave!
Always say what we think! - We'll go to Berlin!
Yeah, we'll go to Berlin! - We'll start a flat share!
I'll never get up before 6 AM again!
- Before 6 AM? - Never again!
And we'll never get married!
And we'll go to Scandinavia!
To Finland. - We're going to Berlin!
Happy New Year!!!
I can't figure Esther out.
She's smart.
She's got friends. She's seventeen.
She kills herself.
And no one stops her. Something's amiss.
What do you think about her?
I think she had no friends, she wasn't smart,
and surely didn't want to die.
I forgot your flowers again.
- Hello. - Hello.
How was Berlin?
Yeah...
Before, I didn't mind interrogating perfect strangers, but...
now it turns my stomach.
Maybe I should...
finally accept retirement?
You can be active, just don't dig your old rut deeper.
I wish it were just a rut.
There are so many things you could get involved in.
For the living, for example,
not for your dead.
- You're right. - Yes. Here.
Read this, it will get your mind off it.
- Poetry? - Mhm.
"Girls"
standing at the gates
staring shyly
into vibrant life.
Their moist lips trembling." Oh my.
SONGS OF THE DEPARTED
I'm not there yet.
And here.
Sandra Horn.
That was her best friend.
Thanks.
You can't just show up here to insult me.
I'm filing a complaint with your superiors.
I don't have superiors. - What's that?
I didn't insult you.
You accused me of sending Esther to her death. - No.
I said I think it's possible that you belong to a handful of people
who didn't stop your friend's death.
How can you not have superiors?
Can we have a seat?
I am no longer in active duty.
What do you want?
I believe someone abandoned Esther in her hour of need.
It could have been a boyfriend, her father, her mother...
her favorite aunt, a dentist...
or her best friend.
Who knows?
I'm making the rounds.
A bit late, no?
It's not about the criminal aspect.
- That's over. - Writing a novel?
You could call it that.
I want to know, who was Esther?
We all wanted to, back then.
Sorry? - Back then, we all wanted to.
But you did think that Esther wanted to harm herself.
You told her parents.
Maybe I did.
Do you remember your classmate, Jan Roland?
Every grade has its asshole.
He thinks it's possible that Esther's father...
abused her.
That couldn't be.
That's just a bald-faced lie.
Jan Roland was an ass.
He said one more thing:
Esther was supposedly friends with a man in the neighborhood.
Do you think that's possible? - That Esther fucked grown men?
That we're all sluts?
Show some respect, detective.
Otherwise, you'll see a nasty article about you in the newspaper.
What was wrong with Esther?
What was her secret?
She didn't have any secrets.
She just stopped talking.
I could shake her,
scream at her, beg her...
- And the dentist? - As if!
She only went there because of his little boy.
She called him "my little brother."
Sure...
Dr. Jordan showed up at dance clubs.
He was into us and into Esther.
But Esther knew exactly where to draw the line.
That's how she was. - And her mother?
She couldn't cope with Esther's death.
You're positive about that?
I am.
People say stuff, I know.
And Doris Winther believed the rumors instead of her husband?
And you?
I knew it wasn't true.
But when it happened...
I wasn't confident enough to say so.
Hey!
- Hi. - Hi.
Isn't Esther here? - Just left, trouble at home.
- Then it's true. - What?
That something's going on. - What's going on?
Her father barges in when she's taking a shower, and...
in her room at night.
Esther told you that?
Hey, Esther!
You're still here. I have to talk to you.
Why?
Is it true, what you told Dr. Jordan, about being abused?
He won't get away with it.
Is it true? Is that why you're so quite?
They will feel how I really am.
Time for them to pay.
What?
Esther? Pay for what?
I shouldn't have let her go.
Hey, Esther!
Where are you going?
Who's more important to you than me?
That was the last time I saw her.
Hello? Talk to me!
Say something!
I'm your best friend!
They know nothing about me. Neither do you.
Leave me be. I gotta go.
Hey? What's this all about?
Frida didn't bark at all.
I look up and think,
"Who hung a doll in the tree?"
And...
it wasn't a doll!
And suddenly I saw that poor girl hanging in the tree.
It was too late.
I recognized her right away.
She was always in the park.
With her friends, drinking beer and smoking cigarettes in secret.
Like teenagers do.
She was a nice girl, a friendly girl, always said hello.
OUR BELOVED DAUGHTER ESTHER WINTHER
DORIS WINTHER MY BELOVED WIFE
I forbade you to continue investigating!
And now you call me here?
You concealed destructive things about your family.
What? - You claimed to bring me the motive for a possible crime.
The story about the dentist! - Yeah! Dr. Jordan.
No!
I'll tell you why you came to me.
You can't bear the guilt.
That's why I ask you to confess, here.
Today. At this spot.
No!
You're talking nonsense!
I loved Esther! I would never kill her!
Don't lie. The dead are listening.
I spoke to your daughter's best friend.
And with your sister-in-law.
In Berlin. - You went to Berlin, why?!
Inge knows nothing! - Esther visited her often.
And was different every time she got back.
I never liked it.
I won't be put on trial here!
My father was a baker.
He got up 2 AM to make the dough.
I snuck down at night to watch how he would
knead the bread with his giant hands.
I was healthy and happy.
He wasn't. Asthma.
He suffocated one day.
Suffocated by flour.
Yeah, he should have quit.
But no, every morning up to make dough.
He slept during the day and we had to be quiet.
He could make bread and rolls.
But not pies.
He could support us until the Wall fell.
Then capitalism brought premix industry bread, bakery chains.
Business was bad.
Mother didn't have a job, well...
I had to leave school.
Vocational training.
Salesman, textiles.
Then I met Doris.
A year later, Esther was born.
We saved for the house, like one does,
for ten years!
I can't complain.
And you forced your daughter to do the same:
to conform to society,
not to dance to her own rhythm.
How was Esther to know what kind of pressure you were under?
Maybe Esther would even have understood.
She wasn't afraid.
But you made her afraid.
You and your wife.
She began to mistrust you.
Then she began to mistrust herself, felt worthless,
and fell silent.
No.
No. No, no, no.
A solitary silent accusation!
Never said a thing! Not a thing!
Then her friend shows up and claims that... - Hey!
Then her friend shows up and claims that...
Esther is depressed. Another lie!
To hurt me!
To break me down.
Did you think someone wanted to hurt you?
Of course, she gave me the silent treatment, not a peep!
And no sleep.
And the accusation of abuse?
I think she was trying to blackmail me.
Can that be?
A daughter blackmails her own father?
That shouldn't be said aloud. - Yes, you can.
Get these things off your chest.
She was blackmailing me.
I worked to buy the house.
I paid off the loan.
I paid for the repairs.
There wasn't any money left for expensive clothes and trips.
Maybe you didn't explain that well enough to your daughter.
What's to explain?
You do it and others get it. That's what family is for.
She accuses me,
and people start pointing fingers at me.
You knew what she was telling people
and still didn't talk to her. - No.
I...
I wanted to talk to her,
but I didn't know how!
Esther, open this door.
Esther, open up, I want to talk to you.
I'm already in bed.
Open this door!
What is the matter?
What are you telling the whole town?!
People are looking at me funny!
I'm not doing anything to you! Damn it!
And you never spoke to her again?
No.
With your wife?
No.
Even after your daughter's death,
you never talked to your wife about the accusations?
She believed them.
She thought I was a child molester.
I think your wife hanged herself in shame.
You didn't sense what she was feeling?
Did she sense what I was feeling?
Udo, check!
I want to show you something. - Wait.
Just a minute.
You can leave your shoes on.
Go on through, just don't mind the mess.
You're not sitting.
This is my wife's diary. Read it.
"The detective even came to the funeral."
What we shared, I ought not even write.
No one will believe it. I can hardly believe it.
It feels like it happened last year but it was four days ago...
as the man sat in my kitchen...
"and tasted my fresh apple pie..."
"21-2" what does that stand for?
February 21st.
The day my wife hanged herself in that tree.
The page is missing.
Torn out.
"You were never really there."
"I can no longer really see myself."
"I no longer want to see myself."
"I'm leaving."
"I don't want to see you anymore."
Interesting, it means something totally different.
Here.
She wanted to destroy me.
She did destroy me.
What's that scar on your hand?
Bite.
A dog?
Yes, in Bulgaria.
It attacked you. - Not me, my daughter.
It was one bite, but deep.
The coward ran away.
You were protecting Esther.
Yes.
Repeat after me:
I let you go...
Doris.
Sorry?
Just repeat it.
No.
I let you go...
- Doris. - Doris.
And I let you go, too, Esther.
No, why?
And I let you go, too...
- Esther. - Esther.
In thankfulness and love.
Try again later, but don't forget to do it.
My daughter...
left me...
Esther, why...
did you...
do this?
Esther...
was this...
my punishment?
Why...
am I so weak?
I'm leaving.
Do you know what Sandra told me?
- What is it? - Esther...
only made those things up to get back at her father.
What did she supposedly make up?
That he abused her,
all the stuff I told you, in good faith.
She made it all up.
Esther told Sandra she did. - You're telling me this now!
That it was all a lie?
Did you believe that Ludwig...?
It's the only explanation!
I don't want to see you anymore.
I don't want to...
see you anymore.
Sandra confronted Esther about it.
She said Esther took it all back.
But the rumor was out there.
I had a very serious talk with my daughter.
Did you talk to Esther about it?
It didn't seem appropriate.
But you talked to Doris.
A few months ago. - When exactly?
It was rumors, nothing that could have explained Esther's death.
And definitely not Doris' suicide!
I really hoped she would come back to life.
That's what Doris had hoped, too.
Until the day you came to her.
The next day she visited her sister,
who didn't see it was a call for help.
Then she went home and hanged herself.
From the tree where you spoke to her! - That has nothing to do with...
When I told Doris about the rumors...
she was shocked.
I tried to calm her down.
I told her to speak to her husband.
How could I have known?
You can't...
People don't want to have their feelings known.
Definitively no correlation with the DNA sample on the spoon.
You can forget Jan Roland.
Thanks, Andre.
Jan Roland is out of the game.
Give it a rest then, will you?
Do you know the 10 Little Negros?
Yes. Originally, it was Indians.
Two little Negroes bathed in the Nile, one got eaten by a crocodile...
That leaves one, and I'm going to go get him!
Done with your homework?
You have to work harder!
I have to go. I'll be right back.
I find your visit extraordinarily strange.
Of course, I knew Esther.
Very sad.
Everyone liked her.
Esther had a good relationship to your nephew.
Yes.
And that's how I met her. A neighbor's daughter who knew our son.
Hello Patrick. - You mean Patrick.
Yes, my brother's son.
A troubled kid.
Then little Esther Winther showed up.
Go Patrick, the champ! - Tamed him with her mother's apple pie.
He was the little brother she always wanted.
May I speak to the young man? - No. That's not a good idea.
It will just upset him.
Second degree murder. The boy was only five.
He was destroyed. Mother dead. Father in jail. So, he came to us.
Out of a village into the city. We adopted him, so to say.
We did our best.
Unfortunately, the boy never really got over it.
Too bad for the boy.
Can I drop you somewhere?
No, thank you.
No! No!
You wanted to speak to me?
Who are you?
I'm Patrick.
I saw everything.
What did you see?
Everything, how he strangled her.
What are you talking about?
I didn't know what it's like when someone dies.
How their legs shake.
Who?
Patrick?
Whose legs shook?
Patrick?
Esther?
Who?
With the rope.
With the rope that...
Esther hanged herself?
She didn't hang herself!
Are we there yet? - Yes, we're here.
Frida!
You're all excited. What is with you?
This is the one.
I put a soda in there for you.
Cool, thanks.
What are you doing?
It's a game.
When you tie the knot this way,
like this, and this,
the noose won't tighten.
You just hang there, fine.
Tell me if it looks real.
Hold this.
See? Nothing happens.
I can hold myself like this.
Don't be scared. It'll be our secret.
I'm just gonna try it.
Watch out.
Be careful!
Don't worry, Patrick, the real game will be played in my garden.
Then they'll see.
Winther here.
You were right, Mr. Winther. It wasn't suicide.
Esther wasn't murdered either. It was an accident.
Esther only wanted to scare you.
Childish revenge against her parents.
A naive game.
Little Patrick was there.
He told me everything.
He could only watch.
Like when his own mother died.
I let you go, Doris.
I let you go...
I let you both go...
I let you go, Esther.
I let you go, I let you go...
I let you go.
My intuition didn't fail me.
What I saw half asleep shook me to the bones.
I saw the perpetrators and victims in their apartments
and their houses.
And I understood that I was one of them.
Of course, you always want a confession in the end.
It's your job.
But sometimes there's nothing to comprehend,
only to recognize.
Someone left this at the shop for you.
No return address.
From your Berlin trip?
My Berlin trip.
I think we should rather go to the mountains.
Translation: Jacob Watson
Subtitles: alias film + sprachtransfer