EIN NASSER HUND/ A WET DOG

Germany, 2021, 13 minutes, Colour.

Doguhan Kabadayi, Mohammad Eliraqui.

Directed by Damir Lukacvevic.

An arresting title. What could it mean? There is a reference, a comment about Jews living in Iran: better to despise a Jew than a wet dog.

This is a German film, set in the Berlin area of Wedding,  a neighbourhood where many of the refugees from Turkey and the Middle East have settled, some of the young teenage men forming into gangs and rivalries. They are Muslim, some devout, some not. And they have an innate antipathy towards Jews, some of whom run local stores and jewellery shops.

At the centre of the drama is Soheil, mid-teens, his family having fled Iran, settled in Gottingen but having moved to Wedding. His parents run a fabric shop, are proud of their Jewish heritage but have tended to underplay it, stating they were not religious, bringing their son up rather more secretly, no Bar Mitzvah. This makes it confusing for Soheil trying now to blend into the atmosphere of Wedding. He is seen wearing his star of David but will deny this. Craving some kind of company, he comes across a group playing soccer and eventually is welcomed, becoming the best friend of the leader of the Tigers, Husseyn. In an area covered with graffiti art, Soheil goes out at night, gaining a reputation for his skills.

Soheil feels at home with the local Tigers gang, runs with them, fights the rivals, even stabbing one of them. At school he is attracted to a local girl, Selma, even going out of his way to collect plastic bottle tops for her cause to finance a wheelchair for refugees. At home, he clashes with his father, especially when the group are apprehended fighting and the police bring him home – and later his father has to get him out of jail.

The gang decide to rob the Jewish jeweller’s shop and Soheil volunteers to be part of the activity, even later getting them an opportunity to carry out their attack. Some of the group are suspicious.

Ultimately, and this is the core of the drama for this wet dog, Soheil has to make a decision as to his Jewish identity. And he does, prepared for the consequences – except for his love for Sela. But his admission, and his interactions with his parents, lead him to the Jewish library in Berlin. He starts reading, stirred by some of the film sequences he saw at school about the Holocaust but which he had tended to ignore at the time. He reads, studies, identifying more and more with an Israeli mentality, touches of patriotic fervour.

So, this is the journey of a Jewish boy, whose life underplayed the core of his identity, who is craving some kind of bonding, irrespective of religion, even prepared to investigate Islam and visit a mosque, but faced with a genuine identity crisis. Will he stay in Wedding, what about the pregnant Selma, what about his continued support from Husseyn, what about going to Israel, becoming an Israeli citizen? And final images of his choice – in the Israeli Army, his rifle pointed towards protesting Arabs.

1. The title, the reference to Soheil, his status in Wedding, his family, society, the Muslim youth, Jewish background?
2. Wedding, the area in Berlin, settled by refugees, Turkish Muslims, the presence of the Jews? The locals? Attitude towards foreigners and refugees? Anti-Semitism? Homes and interiors, jeweller’s shop, other shops, police precincts, the streets, sport and fights? Charities? The musical score?
3. Soheil’s story, the family background from Iran, his minimal Jewish consciousness, his parents and their Jewish consciousness, not highlighting it, more secular? His Star of David, wearing it, taking it off? His age, experience, place within the family? School, antagonism? The Tigers, meeting Husseyn, initial hostility, becoming part of the group, their activities, sport? His wanting to become Muslim like them? Removing his Star of David? Finding his place, bonding, finding friendship, his parents’ reaction? Meeting Selma, a charity work, the attraction, helping her with the bottle tops, her causes?
4. The plan to rob the jeweller’s shop, his wanting to be part of it? Some of the group suspicious about him, provocation?
5. The school sequences, the lessons, the images of the Holocaust and their impact on him? The role of the teacher?
6. The challenge to him, rounded up by the police, his father bringing him home? The Jewish background, his going to the library, his intensive study, change of heart, becoming strict, clothing, the Star, the revelation to Hussein and his friends? The relationship with Selma?
7. His decision to go to Israel, his becoming involved, military, the scenes in Israel, the impact of his conversion?