The One Who Dances with Bears - Blood Timber unravels a dark crime in Transylvania's logging underworld
A gripping crime thriller returns to screens this month as Blood Timber airs on ARTE. The 2023 ZDF production follows private investigator Hans Schüssler, played by Joachim Król, as he probes the disappearance of a German timber executive in Transylvania. The case pulls Schüssler back to his roots—and into a web of corruption tied to illegal logging and embezzlement.
Hans Schüssler is a Transylvanian Saxon, one of the ethnic Germans who fled Romania for West Germany during the Cold War. Under Ceaușescu's regime, the German minority endured repression, forced labour, and economic hardship. Many left after the 1989 revolution, though Romania's later EU and NATO membership improved conditions for those who stayed.
The film centres on Jens Baumann, a manager at a timber firm accused of processing stolen wood and misusing EU funds. Schüssler's investigation grows complicated when his former lover, Silvia, now a mayoral candidate, appears linked to the company's shady dealings. Directed by Torsten C. Fischer, known for Tatort – Der Fall Reinhardt, Blood Timber blends personal history with a high-stakes crime.
Nominated for the 2022 Rheingold Audience Award, the thriller first aired on ZDF and now gets a rebroadcast. Viewers can catch it on ARTE at 8:15 PM on Friday, March 20.
The film weaves Schüssler's past with a modern-day scandal, highlighting the lingering effects of Transylvania's history on its present. Blood Timber offers a tense narrative of crime, memory, and the cost of progress. It will be available to stream on ARTE after its television premiere.
