Fatum (Room 216)

In interview room 216, a high-ranking member of the military is being interrogated by a police officer about the disappearance of a woman. The crime appears to be linked to three similar cases. The military man is not under arrest—he’s free to walk out whenever he likes, or to call a lawyer at any time. Apart from the interviewer and the interviewee, there are three cameras present in the room recording the conversation in fly-on-the-wall style. Both interlocutors are well aware of the presence of these cameras. The tone of the conversation is characterized by mutual respect and friendly urgency, and it is also exceptionally candid. In a long, thorough session, the police officer takes the military man through his statement. The stories of a crime and a criminal unfold simultaneously, and in a highly sophisticated fashion. Gradually, the significance of the found footage sequences intercut with the interview recording becomes clear, and Paul M. van Brugge's composition Fatum ("fate"), performed by violin and cello, lends the whole an even more dramatic edge.