Original subtitles

Here's your card and this is your receipt.

Was everything OK?

- For you. - Thank you very much.

Well, all the best and see you again soon.

Oh, have my room cleaned straight away, please.

Of course, Mr Paulsberg. Have a nice day.

BERLIN CENTRE

Hello?

It's me.

- Where are you? - I'm still in Hannover.

- Why? - Winterberg, he...

wants to show me his new business and invited me to dinner afterwards.

- Will you be coming home? - I don't think so.

That's a shame.

Yes.

Listen, I've got to go. I'll call again, all right?

I love you.

Bye.

SHADES OF GUILT

THE OTHER

Hello, Mr Paulsberg. Friedrich Kronberg, I'm a lawyer.

Take a seat.

Your wife asked me to talk to you.

How is she?

Composed. She sends her greetings.

And...

And how is Rüdiger Timmer?

He's in intensive care, but he's stable.

Your wife didn't really tell me much,

just what the police told her, namely that you, allegedly,

struck and severely wounded a man in a hotel room in Hannover.

What happened in that hotel room?

I don't want to say anything

about what happened.

I'd like you to tell my wife that it's up to her to decide

what she wants to say.

That's all.

I'll tell her.

Mr Paulsberg.

- He doesn't want to say anything? - No.

He doesn't deny having done it but he doesn't want to talk about it.

He told me to tell you that it's up to you what you want to say about it.

- Do you know him, Rüdiger Timmer? - Yes.

He and my husband went to school together.

We once met by chance in a hotel bar.

I don't know what happened.

You can call me any time.

That's kind.

Thanks.

Sometimes I think we should go somewhere else.

Why? What's the problem if everything's perfect?

- To our weekend. - To us.

Good evening.

What was that all about?

What would you do if he were here now?

I'd ask him to kiss my breasts

while you kiss me between my legs,

and then the two of you carry me to bed.

Here he comes.

Good evening.

Are you shy? You're blushing.

Do you like him?

I think for Thorsten it was just an anecdote.

He turned us on.

We had fantasies, but he wouldn't have taken it any further.

I couldn't stop thinking about it though.

I'd discovered something strange within myself,

like when you suddenly come across a new room

in your own house.

From next month, you or anyone who uses your car

has to record every journey in a logbook.

Departure time and location, arrival time and destination.

No, you can use any old notebook.

I will, Miss Baer.

Yes, bye.

- Do you want anything from the Thai? - No, thanks. I'm not hungry.

What is it?

I have a proposition.

Don't say no straight away. Hear me out first.

OK.

I want to meet a man.

A callboy.

I keep thinking about the sauna and how we slept together.

I want you to watch.

OK.

This is your first time, isn't it?

Yes.

And what did you have in mind?

Well...

You have sex with my wife while I...

I film the two of you.

We'll pay you twice the amount that was agreed.

Fine.

Shall we get started?

- Let's go to the theatre. - Yes, why not?

- Shall I get some tickets? - Yes, do that.

- What are you doing? - I want to do it again.

Why does it turn you on so much?

Because you're watching.

It turns you on too, doesn't it?

But it's not without its dangers.

It's just a game.

A fun game.

For both of us.

What are you going to call him?

- Well, it's still Samuel. - My vote still goes to Balthasar.

- My thoughts exactly. - I think Samuel is a lovely name.

Lissy, we wanted to ask you

to be his godmother.

Me?

- Katja, no. - I think it would be great.

I don't even know how to handle children.

- To Aunt Lissy. - To Aunt Lissy.

To Aunt Lissy.

Just do your best. You go first. The professional will go first.

Katja.

So, how are you?

I'LL GLADLY MEET YOU BOTH!

And how's the baby?

Saturday?

Hang on, I'll ask Lissy.

Katja wants to invite us to dinner on Saturday.

Katja, are you still there? Let me call you back, OK?

OK, bye.

- What are you doing? - I've just got us a date.

You don't even ask me anymore, do you?

It turns you on too, doesn't it?

Yes, but I'm still jealous.

You needn't be.

Just tell Katja

that I'm going to a conference at the weekend.

It's changing us, isn't it?

If you're not enjoying it,

we'll stop.

I'm afraid we're losing each other.

I could go alone.

Bonnie and Clyde?

Tomcat Fritz. Have you been waiting long?

Same again? Same again and a gin and tonic for me, too.

Thorsten.

I don't believe it, you're Thorsten Paulsberg from 8A.

It's me, Rüdiger Timmer. Albert Schweizer School, Hamburg?

- No, I don't believe it. - I don't believe it either.

And this must be your lovely wife.

Hello, I'm Rüdiger Timmer.

Weird, meeting you here like this. Little Thorsten from 8A.

- I never thought you'd become so hip. - Why not?

Although, I could have known. Remember Annette Senft, Thorsten?

I've got to tell you this. I can, can't I?

Your husband was in love with Annette Senft. Everyone was.

She was unattainable, year nine, but Thorsten didn't care.

He wrote her poems on cards with birds and flowers on them.

Then one day, Harry Lensen, the coolest guy in the school

reads the poems out loud in the middle of the playground.

"To an angel," that kind of thing.

Everybody was laughing and Thorsten just stood there,

listened and did nothing. He didn't do anything.

Excuse me. Can I talk to you for a moment?

- Let's leave, please. - Why? It's fun, isn't it?

- Is there a problem? - Not at all.

What's the matter? Where are you going?

- Leave me alone. - Where are you going?

Are you satisfied now? Is that what turns you on, humiliating me?

It's just a game, Lissy. It's just a game.

You know, you were too cowardly to say no, to leave.

It's always the same. You make me sick.

I'm sorry.

Lissy, forgive me. I'm so sorry.

And that was it.

We stopped doing it from then onwards.

We never spoke about it again. It was simply over.

We took time off and travelled to Australia.

It was great and we were happy.

Happier than ever, really.

But then, a few months after we returned,

Thorsten went to a fabrics expo in Hannover.

Hey, Thorsten! What a coincidence.

Where's your lovely wife? Are you alone?

- I'm here for the expo... - Stay in contact, OK? See you soon.

Right, Mr Paulsberg, it's party time.

- Rüdiger. - Let's celebrate.

Look, I have no time.

Relax, will you? Partying is good. I've got something really nice.

- Have you ever tried it? - No.

It's really great, especially before having sex.

So, are you and your wife still active?

- No. - I haven't seen you online, either.

Bonnie and Clyde.

- Do you want to try some? - No thanks.

God, you're boring.

I'll tell you something. I often think about it.

It was so good. The fact that you were watching really turned me on.

Little Thorsten Paulsberg from 8A, and I was fucking his wife.

It was probably the best sex I've ever had.

I'm jealous of you. She really loves it, how horny is that?

I'll be right back.

So you don't want to say anything at trial either?

Yes. I mean, no. I won't say anything about how it happened.

I spoke to your wife yesterday.

She told me everything.

My wife is a lawyer.

The problem is that if the partners in her law firm find out,

they'll throw her out.

Yes, I understand.

You want to protect her, I realise that.

But you must understand

that judges want to make sense of a crime.

They want to understand the motive. If they don't understand a crime

then the sentence is usually a lot higher.

Well...

It is what it is.

Thorsten Paulsberg is accused of the attempted murder of Rüdiger Timmer

in a hotel room in Hannover, using a heavy ashtray to hit him on the head.

Rüdiger Timmer lost consciousness. He was left with his head on the toilet.

The accused left the hotel, leaving the victim behind.

Since drugs were found,

the charge is attempted murder due to intended concealment.

Mr Paulsberg, do you have anything to say?

My client wishes to remain silent.

Please call the witness, Rüdiger Timmer.

Mr Timmer, may I remind you that you must tell the truth.

Lying to this court is a criminal offence. Do you understand?

Yes.

There are proceedings against you concerning cocaine

that was found in the hotel room and your briefcase.

You don't have to say anything here that might incriminate you.

Your Honour, anything the witness could say about what happened

would necessarily relate to the drugs found

and therefore, he would in all probability incriminate himself.

I agree with the defence. The witness may refuse to testify.

- Mr Timmer, do you wish to testify? - No, I don't.

Then you may stand down.

Ms Seeland, had you met Mr Paulsberg before?

Yes, he always stayed at our hotel when he was in Hannover.

Did you notice anything strange when he checked out on September 9th?

No, not at all, really.

He left a 30 euro tip, like he always does.

I asked him if he'd enjoyed his stay and he said yes.

Then he asked me to have his room cleaned as soon as possible.

And he was very friendly. He always is.

- Thank you. I have no more questions. - Ms Seeland,

do guests often ask for their rooms to be cleaned quickly when they leave?

- No, not really. - Did you have it cleaned quickly?

- Yes, I did. - What happened next?

The cleaner phoned me and told me that there was someone lying there.

- And what did you do? - I called an ambulance.

How long after Mr Paulsberg left was the victim found?

About half an hour.

And if Mr Paulsberg hadn't asked you,

how long would it have been before the room was cleaned?

Well, a good 2 hours, I would think.

Your Honour, given Mr Timmer's injury,

he could well have died in that time.

It was a good day for us, Mr Paulsberg.

It will help us greatly that you hinted at your crime.

Let me briefly summarise.

You dragged Mr Timmer to the toilet and laid his head on the seat,

presumably to hit him better. But you didn't. Why not?

I had to think of my wife, about how we met.

It was at a snack bar at the airport.

She was wearing a coat which was far too thin.

It was a blue coat with large silver buttons.

She was freezing and I offered her my jacket.

I don't usually do that, but for her...

There was nothing from outside that stopped you committing the crime.

We call this a golden bridge.

You decided not to go ahead with the murder attempt.

That means that the judge can't convict you of attempted murder,

only of grievous bodily harm.

Do you know how my wife is?

No, unfortunately I don't.

The case against Mr Paulsberg will now continue.

Please call the witness, Elisabeth Paulsberg.

Please take a seat at the front.

Mrs Paulsberg, as the wife of the defendant,

you have the right to refuse to testify.

I'm aware of that.

Nevertheless, I would like to make a statement.

I met Rüdiger Timmer last March

on a train from Hamburg to Berlin.

It was delayed and we struck up a conversation.

He offered to share a taxi into the city centre.

A few days later, we bumped into each other at a Thai restaurant

where I often have lunch.

I liked him. He made me laugh. He flirted with me.

He was so very different from my husband.

Don't get me wrong,

I love my husband,

but we've been married for 14 years now

and I fancied an adventure.

That's how I became Rüdiger Timmer's mistress.

We'd meet in the flat of a friend of mine

who's gone to Paris for a year.

It went on like that for about 2 months.

It was usually on Thursdays. I told my husband

that I was doing a yoga course.

Thorsten, my husband, must have followed me one day.

He rang the bell and I thought it was Rüdiger.

We had a dreadful argument.

My husband was very upset and said that he wanted a divorce.

I ended my relationship with Rüdiger Timmer that same day.

I didn't want to ruin my marriage.

My husband and I decided to take a break and we went to Australia.

We made up. We were happy again.

Happier than ever before, in fact.

I became convinced that we'd safely left the past behind us.

I want to

give you this,

- as evidence. - What is it?

Rüdiger Timmer and I sometimes filmed ourselves

having sex.

Fine, I'll have this checked out. Thank you.

Elisabeth Paulsberg is hereby dismissed.

I have reached the following verdict.

I find the defendant guilty of grievous bodily harm

and sentence him to 3 years and 6 months in prison.

The costs of this trial are to be paid by the defendant.

The court has decided

that the sentence for attempted murder passed on September 9th

is hereby annulled. The new sentence stands.

The detention period while awaiting trial will be deducted. My verdict...

WE OFTEN THINK OF YOU. COME AND VISIT US! THE PAULSBERGS!

A person's guilt is hard to measure.

All our lives we strive for happiness but sometimes

we go astray and things go awry.

Then only the law separates us from chaos,

a thin layer of ice, underneath which it's cold and you die quickly.