Der Fall Barschel (2015)

After a plane crash in 1987, which he survived but seriously injured, the prime minister Uwe Barschel surprisingly loses ground in the Schleswig-Holstein election campaign. Shortly before the ballot box, he comes under pressure: According to a news magazine, he is said to have spied on his popular competitor Björn Engholm and started a dirty campaign against him with the support of the dodgy media officer Reiner Pfeiffer. He publicly denies everything with his word of honor, but aspiring reporters David Burger and Olaf Nissen uncover a lie. Then has to resign and the newspaper celebrates wildly. When he is found dead shortly afterwards in the bathtub of a Geneva hotel, the affair takes on a new dimension: Although the investigators assume suicide, his family speaks of murder. Murder or suicide? David and Olaf disagree. Over the years, Burger obsessively follows every new trail that makes the case seem increasingly monstrous: illegal arms deals via the GDR, connections to the submarine deal with South Africa and even a possible connection with the Iran-Contra affair. All reference to his former life, friends and family is increasingly lost. Instead, Burger, who begins an affair with journalist Giselle, delves deeper and deeper into a world of shady informants. And when he suspects that Olaf has information, he even breaks into it.