Reif für einen Mord

I can't believe all the negative ratings. This is *not* a whodunnit people, it's more in the vein of The Pink Panther than Murder She Wrote. If the ringtone didn't clue you in, you're perhaps not as good as you think at "finding clues"...

Now, that you'll be coming to the movie with the right expectations, you will be in a position to savor the humor and social satire. And you'll also be in a better position to kick back and enjoy the acting in this light and refreshing comedy.

Magda, downtrodden housewife, nursing a sorrow from the past (her best friend from high school, Weronica, has been missing for 15years), discovers a murder victim while walking the dog.

Another school friend, Jacek, is the detective in charge of solving the murder.

All sounding a bit dark?

Well the film actually is quite quirky and takes on an Agatha Christie type feel. Magda becomes the amateur sleuth and Jacek is more of an inspector Clouseau, even though it is Magda who has the Pink Panther ringtone.

The pace keeps up and you really do like Magda and Jacek and the situations they find themselves in make you laugh.

It is an enjoyable film that makes you smile.

Enjoyed this movie with good comedy mixed with a murder investigation !

Great casting !

Got to love the movie locations with beautiful old world homes and gardens !

Beautifully photographed film from Poland, listed as a comedy.

It really isn't strictly a comedy, but it has humor. The main character is Magda (Magda Smolowik) discovers a body while walking her dog. Her ex-boyfriend is the detective in charge of the case. She considers herself an amateur detective due to all the Agatha Christie books she's read so she basically drives him nuts.

It seems like wherever he goes to conduct an interview, she's there and tries to hide. Quite funny.

Later there is another murder.

The mystery is around a necklace worn by not only the victims but Magda's friend who disappeared years earlier. The necklace has the initial of each woman.

On the home front, Magda has a bad marriage and a controlling husband whom she realizes is cheating as a result of her work on the case.

The acting is good, I loved the scenery and homes, but this didn't hold my interest. Magda is a likable character, but the mystery wasn't enough.

Scenario: the town of Podkowa Lesna about 50 kilometers southwest of Warsaw. Characters: Magda, her husband Tomasz, Jacek (Magda's childhood sweetheart, now a police officer), Dr. Walczak (a veterinarian), Robert (a pnony clairvoyant and healer), etc. Plot: Magda takes her dog for a walk in a park and finds a body, A piece of jewelry (a W-shaped gold pendant) links the victim with Magda's best childhood friend Weronika, who disappeared without a trace 15 years ago.

For the rest of the movie Magda tries to solve the enigma with varying success, helped/hindered by Jacek, Robert, Dr. Walczak and other town characters. At the end, everything falls into place like in an Agatha Christie novel. A subplot (which also finds solution at the end) is Magda's relation with her cold, borderline abuser husband.

I liked this movie. Production values are high including music (which quotes several times Bernard Herrmann's themes for Hitchcock). Acting is good all around (not unusual in Polish movies). Anna Smolowik playing Magda carries the movie (she is in almost every scene) with the help of her considerable charisma. Credibility is strained here and there and some comedy sequences (including a little slapstick) are perhaps not as funny as they should be but the result is an entertaining movie, well worth watching.