Tatort (TV Series) Reifezeugnis (1977) User Reviews

Kinski's first leading role, a crucial step in her career

[st_belger · 7/10 · 27 February 2005]

I would like to disagree with Carl S. Lau, writer of the first review, to the point that 'Reifezeugnis' was merely a filler movie for Kinski. Her first two movies, 'Falsche Bewegung' and 'Die Braut des Satans', were widely unknown in Germany, and she had merely supporting roles in them. 'Reifezeugnis' was part of the 'Tatort' series, probably the most popular prime time show on German TV then and now (currently acquiring cult status). It was her first leading role and her first exposure to large parts of her country's audience. Everybody was anxious to see whether the daughter of Klaus Kinski, famous from the popular German productions of Edgar Wallace thrillers in the 1960s, was any good or just another actor's daughter. And everybody was raving about her! Therefore I feel 'Reifezeugnis' was an important step in her career.

Unknown Little Gem

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 22 January 2015]

The teenager Sina Wolf (Nastassja Kinski) is having a love affair with her teacher Fichte (Christian Quadflieg), who is fifteen years older than she. One day, her former boyfriend Michael witnesses Sina making love with Fichte in the woods by the lake and he blackmails her. Sina meets him in the woods and Michael tries to rape her; however she hits him on the head with a big stone and kills Michael. She calls the police and tells to the Inspector Finke (Klaus Schwarzkopf) and his assistant that a stranger wearing green jacket tried to rape her but Michael defended her and the stranger killed him. The smart detective does not buy the story but pretends that he believes in it.

However Michael told to his friend Ingrid "Inge" that Fichte and Sina are lovers and Inge tells the secret to her friend Katrin. Then she blackmails Fichte to get good grades; otherwise she is going to flunk the test and repeat the year. When Mrs. Fichte (Judy Winter), who is the mathematic teacher, finds Michael's notebooks on his chair, she reads his comments about her husband and Sina and she learns that she has been betrayed.

Inspector Finke takes Sina to Kiel to identify the corpse of the possible attacker and she confirms that he is the man that attacked Michael and her. However this is a trap of the inspector and his assistant to check if Sina is telling the truth. They stakeout her house and discover that Fichte is her lover. Now the teacher becomes the prime suspect of the police inspector.

"For Your Love Only" is an unknown little gem directed by Wolfgang Petersen for the German television. The story is realistic and very well acted, and second feature of Nastassja Kinski. The "lolita" Nastassja Kinski with fifteen (or seventeen) years old is very natural to undress and is perfect to explain why her teacher did not resist to her. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Somente por Seu Amor" ("For Your Love Only")

For Your Love And Eyes Only

[Noirdame79 · 6/10 · 3 August 2007]

Originally a movie made for German television, directed by Wolfgang Peterson and filmed in 1977, it was later released theatrically in the US in the mid-eighties after its young star, Nastassja Kinski, had become well-known. The VHS tape I came upon is poor quality, badly dubbed (it is so obvious that when the dubbed-in voices are saying "no", the actors are obviously saying "nein"), but it shows the talent of young Nastassja, although she is somewhat exploited in some scenes (sort of par for the course in her early career), in her fresh, innocent beauty. The plot points have already been discussed in the reviews above, and in that sense, the film is quite unremarkable. In fact, it had me thinking of British and Austrailian crime series like "Halifax F.P." and "Cracker". Apart from Kinski, none of the other actors are familiar to me, but as I am not well acquainted with German cinema or television, that is to be expected. It is a curiosity piece if you're a fan of Nastassja (as I am) or if you have an interest in German TV or film.

Tatort's best episode so far!

[T-aerial · 10/10 · 11 July 2012]

I was age 24 when I saw this episode on a Sunday-evening (March 27, 1977) on the German television, always aired on prime time. That's more than 35 years ago. Fortunately, I recently came across the DVD release and a Youtube upload (full-length) of this episode. As I regularly saw the Tatort/Crime Scene episodes, and although living in a neighboring country, I immediately noticed this was a special and terrific one (and still is). The sum of a great story, acting performances, movie directing, locations, atmosphere and film music. This episode was made in summer 1976, so actor Klaus Kinkski's ravishing, gorgeous daughter Nastassja was age 15. She had a smashing debut with this episode and appeared in many movies since then. In this Tatort episode Nastassja is a 17 years old student having a love affair with her married high school teacher age 32. In her next film, 'Così Come Sei' from 1978, the then 17 years old Nastassja has a love affair with a married middle-aged man (the famous Italian actor Marcello Mastroianni.) by the way. Despite some brief moments with innocent nudity, I think an uncut release in the U.S. will still be a problem (the VHS release was censored as far as I know). Today the film locations of 'Reifezeugnis' are a kind of pilgrimage, as the episode has a 'cult' status.

Because of her acting performance and -irresistible- looks, Nastassja Kinski had a lot of media attention (as well as the subject), but I like to mention actress Judy Winter also. She stood in the the shadow of Nastassja, understandable, but she has a lot of screen time too (more than I remember from 1977) and performed her role as a high school teacher and woman of an adulterous husband very well. Perhaps too well, as she understands his adultery; the only weakness in the script in my opinion. In contrast to many other Tatort/Crime Scene episodes, this time the cops are less prominent. I prefer that. Comparing this episode with the many other Tatort episodes (more than 700) I have seen, I still think this is one of the best, actually the best!

Since January 7, 2010, 'Reifezeugnis' aka 'For Your Love Only' is available on DVD (German release), uncut. Unfortunately, despite being Tatort's most popular episode and international theatrical release, only German subtitles are added. Maybe in the near future we may look forward to a Blu-ray release with subtitles in English language also. And interviews with the director Wolfgang Petersen ('Das Boot', etc.) and Nastassja Kinski as extra features...

The magnifier on the story

[semiotechlab-658-95444 · 10/10 · 16 September 2010]

(Please do NOT read this comment, if you do not want to learn the clue of the story!) We speak here about one of the most famous Tatort episodes, with a creme De la creme-crew, including Nastassja Kinski, Christian Quadflieg and Judy Winter (not to forget the late Klaus Schwarzkopf), therefore, it may be allowed to look with a magnifier at the story. After she has refused to spend her leisure time with former boy-friend Michael, Sina is caught by Michael having an affair with her literature teacher, Fichte. Because Michael is deeply angry about this liaison, he urges Sina to go the next day with him into the forests and make love - as she did with Fichte. Because Michael threatens to denounce Fichte to the director of the school, she agrees. A bit later when she is called by Michael, she tries to dissuade him from his idea. The central question is here: Did Sina already at this moment conceive the plan to kill Michael, or not? The seems so suggest the second alternative. However, when they arrive in the forest, Michael immediately throws himself on Sina, lying on her back in the soil. Crying that Michael should leave her alone, but unable to lift him away from her, she catches a stone on smashes his head. Arrived at that point, how would you, reader of this comment, continue the story? I would say: Sina goes to the police, reports that Michael tried to rape her, the police will probably believe her (we hear about Michael's unbalanced character a bit later in the movie), and then there will be a self-defense, but not a murder case. OK, what the author needed is a satisfactory murder-story and not a self-defense. But how he changed this quasi natural on-going of the story, is less than unsatisfactory: He lets Sina invent the Big Third Unknown, allegedly a portly built, middle-sized hunters-man - too much fairy-tale for a sexually and intellectually mature 17 years old girl. Since the police suspects that Sina covers her own school-teacher, they lure her into a trap and present her the caught alleged culprit. Since she is so stupid to identify him as her raper, the police is now convinced that it was the teacher who killed Michael. Well-understood: the police do not even doubt that there were only two instead of three persons at the place of the crime! Because she sees no other way, she writes a good-bye letter in which she frees her teacher from all crime, admits that she killed Michael and disappears in order to commit suicide. Only then, when she is found still alive, the mystery is disclosed. But the movie is finished, and the big question, if Sina will now be sentenced for first-degree murder and not for self-defense, appears. It seems that here the most important twist in the whole movie has been screwed up.

young Nastassia splendid

[jakkermans · 12 August 2021]

Die N. Kinski war bei der Aufname des Tatorts im Sommer 15Jahre alt. Im film wurde sie an der nackten Brust gefasst in einer sexualscene nahe zu Vergewaltigung. Damals im Fernsehen beinahe nicht vorstellbar fur ein so junges Madchen. Der film wurde ausgestrahlt im fruhjahr 1977. Da war sie 16. Mich hatte es damals gar nicht gestort.

Typically fussy German crime story

[Billiam-4 · 6/10 · 18 August 2022]

Typically fussy German crime story is focused on the psychological drama, but thoroughly outstays its welcome; however, this episode created quite a national sensation for bringing a touch of Schulmädchenreport to German homes and especially for introducing the young Nastassja Kinski, who is admittedly perfectly cast here.

One of Wolfgang Petersen's best

[haegar1234 · 10/10 · 30 October 2011]

Is it because the US version of this movie is so bad or why else seem most of the reviewers not to have understood it? Especially semiotechlab-658-95444 when he says that the story of the hunters-man is a fairy tale. In fact Sina uses him in her cover-up story because that man is sought by police through newspaper articles, but he has committed his crimes in a region 60 miles away from Sina's hometown. Also one has to take into account that this was in Germany in the late 70's. In that time almost every policeman, attorney or judge would see the guilt on the part of the woman or girl when she was raped, in fact in most cases it would not be considered rape. You also have to keep in mind that although Kinski was only 16 when the movie was made she plays an 18 year old girl, so she wasn't a minor. So it's perfectly understandable that she does not confess with the hope that it will be treated as self-defense but instead tries to cover-up. Concerning the impact of the movie I can only say that without her role in it the name Nastassja Kinski would be totally unknown in Germany but so at least the older generations know her. Also in my opinion it is one of Petersen's best movies and was a big boost for his career.

Yes, Nastassja did it, but will she get away with murder?

[fookoo · 4/10 · 16 September 2003]

This appears to be Nastassja Kinski's third film - made for TV, but probably not run in the US in its unedited form because of its nudity which is nothing shocking. The film is dubbed into English from German, but it is highly unlikely that Nastassja did the dubbing because her voice is so different. Nastassja as Sina Wolf is having an affair with her English teacher and is caught in the act by one of her admiring male classmates. Blackmail ensues and when it comes time for Sina to pay off, she kills her blackmailer with a rock because she finds him repulsive when he attempts to make love with her, his price for silence as well as forcing her to be his perpetual girl friend. The bulk of the movie concerns Nastassja attempting to evade incriminating herself as a murderess with a dogged police detective in hot pursuit because he senses something fishy. This was not much of a role for Nastassja and certainly not up to her performances in "The Wrong Move" or "To the Devil...a Daughter." At least she is always on screen and looks like a sixteen year old student. "For Your Love Only" is a filler movie in her career that was followed by the totally uninspiring "Boarding School." "For Your Love Only" is not awful, but it isn't exactly good either. Just acceptable and a minor footnote in her meteoric career.

Not for everybody perhaps, but recommended

[lazarillo · 26 February 2015]

An underage teenager (Nastassja Kinski) is having a torrid affair with her handsome, but much older and married German/English teacher. A troubled male classmate spots them during one of their assignations in the woods. He sexually blackmails the the girl and he also tells a couple of his mischievous female classmates, who blackmail the teacher for passing grades. The man's wife, who is also a teacher at the same school, eventually finds out and is surprisingly understanding. But a murder also occurs and the police become involved. . .

This is one of a number of sexy European movies the then-teenage Nastassja Kinski was involved in in the late 70's before she became an international sex symbol. It is true that they would probably not let a girl this age be in movies like this today, definitely not in America anyway. But it's also pretty disingenuous to pretend Kinski wasn't already very attractive back then. She was actually about the average age of teen fashion model today, and if you've ever actually SEEN one of these innocuous European "nudie" movies, it's pretty hard to argue they are any less wholesome than the things that go on in the fashion industry today or the things teenage girls who are a scant two years older and "legal" routinely participate in in the modern American XXX porn industry. But even within Kinski's underage film oeuvre this is film not as questionable as "Wrong Turn", which she made when was barely pubescent, or "Stay As You Are", which is far more sexually graphic.

But if you can write off Kinski's brief topless scenes as a forgivable moral lapse (or a nice bonus feature), this is actually an entertaining thriller. It is somewhat reminiscent of the British films "Assault" and "Unman, Wittering, and Zigo" or the Italian schoolgirl-giallo "What Have You Done to Solange?", but it is not quite as much of an over-the-top murder mystery, and it actually works pretty well as a straight drama. Being a German movie, it's also (not surprisingly) quite similar to any number of the vignette stories in the then-popular "schulmadchen-report" films. But this movie is too well-acted and too well-made to be written off as pure exploitation like those films. It isn't a film for everybody obviously, but I would recommend it.