The vacations of the dandy art detective Allmen turn into business as usual (i.e. troubles) when he must find a stolen Koi fish.
The flamboyant Johann Friedrich von Allmen and his loyal though sarcastic Guatemalan valet Carlos first appeared in Allmen and the Dragonflies (Allmen und die Libellen, 2011), a novel written by bestselling Swiss author Martin Suter and followed by five more books. Four Allmen TV movies based on the novels were aired by pubcaster Das Erste between 2017 and 2021: Allmen und das Geheimnis der Libellen, Allmen und das Geheimnis des rosa Diamanten, Allmen und das Geheimnis der Dahlien and Allmen und das Geheimnis der Erotik. Allmen und das Geheimnis des Koi, the fifth one, was filmed in 2023 and shown last month in Germany and Austria.
Those movies star Heino Ferch (Nordholm, Anatomy of Evil) as Johann Friedrich von Allmen and Samuel Finzi (Flemming) as Carlos. Andrea Osvárt (Tranporter: The Series) plays Joelle "Jojo" Hirt, the daughter of one of the richest men in Switzerland and Allmen's love interest. From the second film, Isabella Parkinson joined the cast as Carlos' Colombian girlfriend Maria Moreno. Adapted by scriptwriter Martin Rauhaus (Hotel Heidelberg) from the book Allmen und der Koi, Allmen und das Geheimnis des Koi is directed by Sinje Köhler. Far from his money issues and the attention of the Zurich tax office, Allmen is on holiday in Tenerife with Jojo and Carlos.
Film mogul Steve Garrett uses music producer Freddie Turnbill, a friend of Johann, to get the services of the detective but not for a missing work of art. He wants him to find "Boy", his $1,5 million Japanese Koi fish which vanished from the pond in his garden. Garrett won't take a no for an answer so he forces Johann to accept. Garrett's girlfriend Dr. Akina de la Vega happens to be a Koi expert, author of a book called Miracle of the Koi. Allmen meets English photographer Helen Lifehouse and Italian gangster Vittorio Giunninazzi. Freddie is murdered and Jojo decides to investigate too. No Prague doubling as Zurich this time but the beautiful scenery of Tenerife, which suits our quatuor very well.
The excellent cast also includes Uwe Kockisch (Donna Leon) as Steve Garrett, Falilou Seck (Freddie), Alejandro Barrios (Bajrush), Edita Malovčić (Dr. Akina de la Vega), Jörg Witte (Vale), Michaela Rosen (Helen Lifehouse), David Lifschitz (Der König von Palma) as Vittorio Giunninazzi, etc. Produced by UFA Fiction (a Fremantle company) with SunnySideUp Productions (Balko Teneriffa) for ARD Degeto and Das Erste. Produced by Alena Gößling and Sinah Swyter. Karsten Kilian and Bettina Höfke are the production managers. Holger Krenz is the line producer. Music by Fabian Römer and Mathias Hillebrand-Gonzalez. Thomas Franz is the production designer. Cinematography by Frank Küpper. Editing by David Kuruc.
Production services in Spain by Rolf Wappenschmitt (SunnySideUp), carried out in the Canary Islands. Allmen und das Geheimnis des Koi has benefited from the Spanish Tax Rebate in collaboration with the Spanish Government and the Tenerife Film Commission. We're not finished with the adventures of Johann Friedrich von Allmen, Carlos and their lady friends because there's a seventh Allmen book called Allmen und Herr Weynfeldt, released in March 2024. This "Herr Weynfeldt" is in fact Adrian Weynfeldt, the main character of Martin Suter's novel Der letzte Weynfeldt (2008).
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