Das letzte Problem (2019) by Karl Markovics - Review

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by Karl Markovics

grade: 7

Goldfish have very powerful eyesight and are able to see what humans often miss. Who is the mysterious killer? Das letzte Problem cleverly takes its cue from what has been made in the past while at the same time creating an enjoyable, adrenaline-fuelled detective story with a welcome retro touch.

Mysterious murders in Vorarlberg

For several years now, renowned actor Karl Markovics has decided to pursue a career as a director, often giving us particularly noteworthy films. This is the case, for instance, with Breathing (2011), his debut feature, as well as Nobadi (2019), his most recent feature film. Yes, because, in fact, it was in 2019 that Markovics directed another film, a TV film, which is part of the ORF Landkrimi series: Das letzte Problem.

Like the other films in the series, then, Das letzte Problem is a detective story entirely set in Austria. On this occasion, the federal state chosen is Vorarlberg and everything takes place exclusively inside a big isolated hotel, from which – due to a heavy blizzard – the guests cannot get out. Due to the bad weather, there are also problems with the telephone lines, the mobile phones do not work and the whole thing immediately takes on the connotations of a detective story in the style of Agatha Christie. When a hotel guest is mysteriously stabbed in his room (locked from the inside), Detective Jonas Horak (Markovics), also on holiday at the aforementioned hotel, starts investigating together with his assistant Freitag (Stefan Pohl).

Goldfish have very powerful eyesight and are able to see what humans often miss. Who is the mysterious killer? Das letzte Problem cleverly takes its cue from the past while at the same time creating an enjoyable, adrenalin-fuelled detective story with a welcome retro touch. Not only Agatha Christie’s detective stories, but also the world-famous Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) or – given the settings – the more recent Hotel (Jessica Hausner, 2004) and The Lodge (Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, 2019). This newest feature by Karl Markovics is reminiscent in many respects of the aforementioned feature films, but does not live off them.

Jonas Horak is a kind of postmodern Hercules Poirot, who nevertheless never stops surprising the viewer. Not a blameless hero, nor an anti-hero who has to deal at all costs with a situation that is more complex than it might initially seem. Karl Markovics is perfect in the role of the detective and is almost reminiscent – especially at the beginning – of the glorious character of Ernst Stockinger, who made him famous years ago in the much-loved series Inspector Rex. Yet, in this case, we soon realise that we are dealing with someone completely different.

We agree: Das letzte Problem is not a perfect film. Alongside great attention to detail and a skilful handling of visual and auditory perceptions, we see a screenplay in which many elements are brought up without being subsequently developed as they should be, or in which certain plot twists arrive too abruptly. Nothing serious, however. We are undoubtedly talking about an extremely enjoyable film, a detective story that immediately captures the viewer’s attention. Karl Markovics has also proved to be skilled in handling a TV film. And who knows what other nice surprises he will have in store for us.