MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes rarely watches German movies, but a crime series on Netflix surprised him so much that he is now a fan – even if he only understands half of it.
German movies often have a negative reputation, even for me. I rarely watch them, and apart from highlights like Rheingold, Systemsprenger or Das Lehrerzimmer, I haven’t been a big fan of films from recent years.
Without really being able to explain it, I was sitting on the couch last Sunday looking for a short film that you can watch before going to sleep. After a long, desperate search, I stumbled upon Dampfnudelblues from 2013. After all, it only lasts about 90 minutes.
Even though I have no experience with Bavarian culture and sometimes don’t understand the dialect, I was surprised: The film is really good and the whole series is worth watching.
A unique atmosphere
A German crime series set in Bavaria. At first, it sounds like a film that would likely be assigned to boomers in the cinema, which wouldn’t appeal to me as part of Generation Z. But to be honest: The Eberhofer crime stories are something special.
The film series is based on the novels by author Rita Falk, and all 9 films were directed by Ed Herzog. The focus is always on the policeman Franz Eberhofer, who solves a case per film as the village sheriff
in the fictional community of Niederkaltenkirchen.
On paper, the films seem like classic provincial crime stories, just set in a small community in Bavaria. But these films have a special vibe that you can’t find anywhere else.
The community feels like a detached place, and combined with the quirky residents and the dialect, it creates a certain coziness that I only know from my grandmother’s hometown in Poland. It’s absurd, sometimes a bit uncomfortable, but also cozy.
Niederkaltenkirchen is like a bubble that has its own problems but is somehow cut off from the rest of the world. You get to know dynamics, characters, and rituals, making the films feel like a comfort zone. I immerse myself in them and enjoy the cases, the quirky jokes, but also the rural tranquility that I rarely experience as a city kid.
But the films don’t work just because of the atmosphere. Without Franz Eberhofer, played by Sebastian Bezzel, the films wouldn’t be nearly as fascinating.
The anti-thesis of a detective
Everyone knows the image of a classic detective. A serious type, dark cases, and a long coat. Franz Eberhofer as a character is almost an anti-thesis. He is always sarcastic, has little sense of timing, and his clothing looks more like that of a man dressed as a policeman for Carnival.
But he has a sense of justice that he pursues, even if he probably shouldn’t. Eberhofer is the anchor point for viewers because he often feels out of place. At the same time, the place is also a safe space for him. When things go wrong, he goes to the bar and drinks with his friends.
Sebastian Bezzel strikes a really nice balance between parody and a love letter to this type of person. Franz Eberhofer is persistent, doesn’t always treat his friends perfectly, and his choice of words leaves something to be desired. But that’s precisely his charm.
In contrast, he has characteristics that one would associate with detectives from the noir genre. He is always calm, always has a plan, and can be a bit rough when it comes to drawing his weapon.
A nice contrast to him are the side characters. His cheeky grandmother, his stoner father, and the residents of Niederkaltenkirchen are quirky and uncomfortable, but exude a similar fascination as Eberhofer.
Fascinating, but not perfect
I can only recommend everyone to check out one of the films, but admittedly they also have some weaknesses. The look fits the ambiance, but sometimes the camera isn’t optimal. I would have wished for more experimentation. There are some spots that show it, but there is still more potential.
The other criticism: The series is super interesting, but you also have to embrace the jokes that my generation would probably describe as cringe
. Some gags hit, but often they are flirting with old man jokes that you would hear in a small pub – after all, they usually fit the ambiance.
Like the feeling of coming home
What do film experts say about the Eberhofer crime stories? As part of this article, I also asked film expert Marco Risch from the YouTube channel Nerdkultur why he can recommend the Eberhofer crime stories as a fan of the series:
The Bavarian Eberhofer crime stories are like the Austrian Knochenmann cult films – only as a mass-compatible canteen dish: lighter, shallower – but seasoned exactly for the German palate!
The necessary spice in the staging nicely elevates them from the usual monotony: the music creates a sleepy provincial western that the Coen brothers couldn’t imagine more absurdly. The characters look directly into the camera and our souls like Hannibal Lecter. Only they don’t scare us with it, but remind me of the archetypes from my village youth years. Everything feels strangely familiar… and thus like the feeling of coming home.
You have to like the characters, even if they keep going in circles with each film like Franz Eberhofer in a roundabout.
Marco Risch from the YouTube channel Nerdkultur on the Eberhofer crime stories
In the course of his podcast Nerd & Kultur, he even recorded a whole episode about the film series and spoke with film critic Antje Wessels about the peculiarities of the Eberhofer crime stories. You can listen to the episode here:
Where can I watch the Eberhofer crime stories? The series currently consists of 9 films, released in this order:
- Dampfnudelblues (2013)
- Winterkartoffelknödel (2014)
- Schweinskopf al dente (2016)
- Grießnockerlaffäre (2017)
- Sauerkrautkoma (2018)
- Leberkäsjunkie (2019)
- Kaiserschmarrndrama (2021)
- Guglhupfgeschwader (2022)
- Rehragout-Rendezvous (2023)
You can currently find all the films on Netflix. That’s where I watched them, as I prefer that platform. Otherwise, you can also find the films on subscription on HBO Max or RTL+, or many of them for free in the ARD Mediathek.
It doesn’t really matter which film you start with. The cases and characters work individually as well. Even if it seems that the films only appeal to boomers, I can only encourage you to check them out, as it is definitely worth it. You can find more crime recommendations here: 5 strong Nordic crime series for a gloomy TV evening
