Harter Brocken: Die Fälscherin (2020)

Mini | Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight, 1835. William Turner’s painting “Keelmen Heaving in Coals by Moonlight” is stolen from a monastery in Calabria and replaced with a copy. Some time later, village police officer Frank Koops is visited in Sankt Andreasberg by ministry official Susanne Kramer. She is supposed to assess whether the police station can be eliminated as part of cost-cutting measures. The townspeople then stage various crimes to make clear that a station of their own is needed. But an actual case soon arises: a man who had earlier seen the occupant of a holiday home copying the stolen Turner painting has died after falling from the roof. While questioning the woman, who claims to be an art restorer, Frank Koops notices that her identity card is forged. On the dead man’s smartphone, he finds a photo of the painting. He calls the last person who phoned him, who turns out to be the dead man’s brother. Now knowing where the original is, the brother sets off from San Luca to Andreasberg in a Mitsubishi L300 with two other Mafiosi. While looking into the supposed restorer, Koops discovers that she is registered under the name of a former fellow student. Her real name is Anna Sorenko. According to her former classmate, she had never painted pictures of her own out of reverence for the great masters. After searching online, Koops suspects that Sorenko is the famous forger “Marlene.” The Mafiosi reach Sorenko’s holiday apartment and use brutal means to demand the return of “their” painting. However, they mistakenly flee with a copy that has just been completed. Koops informs the State Criminal Police Office, which takes over the case. After a botched pursuit, the state police officers are killed. During the shootout, the painting is hit, allowing Gabriele, the Mafiosi’s art expert, to recognize that it is a forgery. The Mafiosi return to St. Andreasberg. By this time, Koops’s young colleague Mette Vogt has arrived. She had actually only wanted to talk to her boyfriend, Heiner, but now finds herself in mortal danger too. Koops, Kramer, and Vogt barricade themselves inside the police station, while Sorenko retrieves the original painting from a hiding place and arrives there as well, believing she will be safest from the Mafiosi there. A wild shootout ensues, in which two Mafiosi are killed. As Koops leaves the police station, he uses the original painting as a shield, since Gabriele would never shoot at it. In the end, the arrival of the townspeople armed with shotguns brings the fight to a close. The painting is saved and sent to the Louvre. Amid all the commotion surrounding Mette Vogt, Heiner asks for her hand in marriage. Deeply impressed by the well-trained village police officer, ministry official Kramer takes her leave.