Justice

The young lawyer Felix Spät is one of many witnesses when the respected senior politican Kohler shoots Professor Winter dead in the middle of the busy "Du Théatre" restaurant in Zürich without any apparent motive. The influential Kohler more or less insists on being arrested and takes the court sentence - 20 years in prison - in a relaxed manner. But then he asks Felix Spät, to reopen the case from a purely theoretical perspective. The latter initially regards this as a bad joke, although Kohler's daughter Helene has already protested her father's innocence to Spät in the courtroom. But Spät knows that Kohler is guilty.

In spite of this he consents, not least because of Helene - and in the final analysis he can make good use of the money.... What began as a mental exercise takes off so that Felix Spät finds that he is out of his depth. Suddenly Kohler is a free man and an allegedly innocent man has had to die. But what is guilt and what is right in this complicated case? There only seems to be one solution for Felix Spät; he has to return to the "Du Théatre" restaurant once more...

Isaak Kohler: Maximilian Schell | Felix Spät: Thomas Heinze | Helene Kohler: Anna Thalbach | Police chief: Mathias Gnädinger | Rudolph Stüssi-Leupin: Norbert Schwientek |Ilse Freude: Ulrike Kriener | Daphne Winter: Suzanne von Borsody | Professor Winter: Hark Bohm | Monika Steiermann: Carole Piguet | Jämmerlin: Diethelm Stix | Dr. Benno: Dietrich Siegl | Lienhardt: Christoph Lindert | Lucky: Martin Semmelrogge | Giselle: Teresa Harder | Prison man: Wilfried Klaus | Maid at Kohlers: Ellen Umlauf | Mock: Jürgen Stössinger | Prison director Zeller: Klaus-Henner Russius | Presiding Judge: Siegfried Meisner | Defendant Lüthi: Jodoc Seidel | Misses Jämmerlin: Suzanne Thommen

Director: Hans W. Geißendörfer | Script: Hans W. Geißendörfer, an adaption of the novel written by Friedrich Dürrenmatt | Camera: Hans-Günther Bücking | Costume designer: Katharina von Martius | Make-up designer: Giacomo Peier, Friederike Reimer | Sound: Jürg von Allmen C.A.S. | Cutting and editing: Annette Dorn | Decor: Hans Gloor, Susanne Jauch | Music: Frank Loef | Line production manager: Patrick Baumann | Senior production manager: Thomas Wommer | Producer: Hans W. Geißendörfer | Co-Produzer: Rudolf Santschi

Drama, Germany 1993, app. 106 minutes