Der Metzger und der Tote im Haifischbecken

Willibald Adrian Metzger restores old furniture, the beauty of which he admires with a good glass of red wine. The amiable loner visits his customers by bicycle because he does not have a driver's license. Usually he only pays attention to old cupboards and chests of drawers, but this time something else piques his interest: a beautiful woman bathing in a lonely mountain lake. The sight promptly knocks him out of the saddle - especially since it is his unfulfilled childhood love Danjela Djurkovic. She doesn't seem to recognize him anymore, because she is only interested in the macabre find at the place where they meet again: a severed finger that is stolen by a bird of prey in the next instant. Is that a dream Willibald and Danjela have a common goal, the Hotel "Sonnenhof" - from whose pool the corpse of a guest has just been fished. The police assume an accident. But before Willibald knows it, the curious Danjela has taken a farewell letter and the dead man's cell phone.

Directed by Andreas Herzog, Der Metzger und der Tote im Haifischbecken leans on a strong ensemble — Robert Palfrader, Dorka Gryllus, Christoph Luser — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about crime titles of 2015.