Criticism of the new episode of the trio

The new Nord bei Nordwest film “Fat Duck with Mushrooms” takes on a serious topic: the fate of the Uyghurs. At the same time, a humorous love triangle creates tension.

You have to say: The new year 2025 is starting off pretty well, at least in terms of television. ARD is releasing three new “Nord bei Nordwest” films. The NDR and the co-producing ARD Degeto are not only celebrating the 25th case, but also the tenth birthday of the series, which started at the end of 2014 and has not lost any of its popularity since then. On average, the films achieve ratings of 7.26 million viewers, and the episode “In the Name of the Father” even cracked the ten million mark in 2021.

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The first new film, “Fat Duck with Mushrooms” (director: Steffi Doehlemann), can be seen on Thursday evening at prime time and from Monday in the ARD media library. It’s not quite as experimental as the last case, “The Last Ferry”, in which Inspector Hauke ​​Jacobs (Hinnerk Schönemann) investigated in a coma-induced in-between world. But the 25th film is also special, this time screenwriter Holger Karsten Schmidt (“Lost in Fuseta”) is trying to create a “spy crime thriller with thriller moments,” write editors Donald Kraemer (NDR) and Katja Kirchen (ARD Degeto Film ) for the anniversary event.

Hauke ​​and the women

It sounds serious, and it is. Which doesn’t mean that the series’ typical humor, which is a big part of its charm, is neglected. Especially in the “love triangle” between Hauke, who is always overwhelmed on an interpersonal level, and his colleague Hannah Wagner (Jana Klinge) and veterinarian Jule Christiansen (Marleen Lohse). This time, too, things crackle between the investigator and the women. “The kiss that doesn’t happen is more than just a prevented kiss in Schwanitz. It’s a promise,” say Kraemer and Kirchen. And that will be the case this time too.

In this case, he really can’t hide how important Hannah is to Hauke, he reacts so awkwardly and with teenage jealousy to her revelation that she met a certain Kevin on vacation and got engaged to him. What’s more: she is quitting and will be leaving Schwanitz in a few days. Oof. “That sounds…really good…” Hauke ​​visibly struggles. “That’s really great news… I can only congratulate you… I’m really happy for you, really.” In the evening he and Jule are supposed to get to know Kevin in the newly opened Chinese restaurant “Mandarin” – the focal point of the film.

A dubious Chinese restaurant and lots of tongue-in-cheek clichés

It couldn’t be more obvious that something isn’t going right here. At any time of day, the establishment is bathed in a seedy, dark, reddish light. The employees also behave extremely suspiciously and distantly. Jule is convinced that the two dogs that were recently stolen from her ended up here – on the menu. In any case, her dish “The Sedan of Heaven” was never made of pork. Hauke, on the other hand, is certain: his “The Lion of Dödelhausen” was definitely made of pig.

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Not the only China clichés in the film, there are also jokes about fortune cookies or the assumption that the two lions in front of the “Mandarin” are a symbol of the triads, i.e. organized crime. But before there’s a hail of complaints – the whole thing is so exaggerated that the satirical intention is clear: “Not only our characters, but also the audience will find themselves prejudiced in this film,” promises director Steffie Doehlemann.

A little later, however, it is not a stolen dog, but a Chinese woman who died in an accident that leads Hauke ​​and Hannah back to the “Mandarin”. They find out that the woman was fleeing from someone before she was run over. The pursuer, according to witnesses, was also Asian. It doesn’t take long before a suspicion emerges: Is the restaurant perhaps just a front for money laundering operations?

Well: Not everything is as it initially seems in “Fat Duck with Mushrooms” – by the way, a homage to the late cartoonist Martin Perscheid, who used the term in one of his works. In the end, the core of the poodle is completely different and, without giving too much away, has to do with the situation of the Uighur minority in China.

The fate of the Uighurs

From their “accommodation in camps, forced labor, re-education to birth reductions through sterilization, etc.” He already knew before the film, explains author Holger Karsten Schmidt. “When reports began to appear in the media that China had unofficial ‘police stations’ not only in Germany, which were used, among other things, to personally pressure, threaten and blackmail Chinese people living here who were critical of the regime, I became upset decided to make exactly that the background of the next ‘Nord bei Nordwest’ episode.” To his surprise and delight, production and editing immediately agreed.

It is unusual and commendable that the series, which is more of a humorous crime thriller genre, takes on such a serious political topic. “I think that’s very brave and good,” agrees leading actor Schönemann. “With a crime film format you reach a different and perhaps larger target group than with a documentary.”

Things will be less serious next Thursday with “Nord bei Nordwest,” the editors reveal: “Hair? Hartmann!” was a “‘sharp’ crime comedy with a lot of black humor”, while a week later “The Nolden House” was “the first horror film in the series” – “of course with feeling and a wink”. Film number 28, “Pechmarie”, has already been shot, but will not be shown until 2026.

Nord bei Nordwest – Fat duck with mushrooms – Thurs. 02.01. – ARD: 8.15 p.m