In Cooperation with WDR - Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln
The orderly world of German judge Elke Seeberg goes completely out of joint when a terrorist bomb explodes in a Berlin bus and the federal police come bursting through her door: Allegedly her teenage daughter played a part in the attack and is now on the run. The following is a kafkaesque nightmare of illegal round-the-clock surveillance by the secret service, public denunciation and her career collapsing. But when the federal agent Buch helps her put together some pieces of the puzzle on her own, the fear of terrorists quickly gives way to the paranoia against an all-powerful state encroaching on all her rights. There are astounding acting highlights here, provided by Heino Ferch as the old hand of the federal agency, by Fabian Hinrichs as the slick and cold secret service hardliner and by Christiane Paul as the hunted mother and citizen; but it's the oppressing and pitch-black atmosphere and the sensitive and truthful approach to the subject that really make Unterm Radar stand out as the right film at the right time.
