The beginning of something

Based on the story of the same name by Siegfried Lenz.

Anne Hoppe, who works as a meteorologist at the Hamburg marine weather office, has been mourning her husband Harry, who died in a shipwreck on New Year’s morning, for a year. At a memorial service, Anne suddenly believes she sees her husband, who was declared dead, among the mourners. What Anne initially believes to be a fantasy is soon repeated when her house is broken into at night and Anne once again believes she recognizes Harry in the burglar.

The policewoman Inga Petersen, who investigates the burglary, thinks Anne is an overwrought widow who cannot cope with the loss of her husband. Anne, however, insists that Harry is still alive and makes her own investigation. Might Harry not have been on board when the container ship sailed? What reason would he have to hide for a year?

When Inga Petersen also delves deeper into the couple’s past and realizes that their relationship was marked by lies, deceit and violence, a whole new set of suspicions arises for her: could Anne Hoppe have had anything to do with her husband’s disappearance?

Photos: © ZDF/Georges Pauly