JUNE 3 • 2021 | 41

B

ased on the award-win-
ning and bestselling 
Israeli novel The Jewish 
Dog by Asher Kravitz, Shepherd: 
The Story of a Jewish Dog 
recounts the history of the grad-
ual eradication of Jewish life in 
Nazi Germany in the 1930s, as 
told through the bond between 
a boy and his German shepherd.
The 94-minute film, 
which opened May 28 at the 
Maple Theater in Bloomfield 
Township, has a slow build, 
introducing viewers to the 
changes in Germany that 
steadily restricted Jewish rights. 
It opens with a scene of a 
German shepherd (the pet of 
a well-to-do Jewish family in 
Berlin) giving birth to a litter of 
puppies.
As the family tries to find the 
puppies a home, they encounter 
early glimpses of antisemitism. 
A man approaches them, asking 
if they have papers proving the 
German shepherds are pure 
breeds. He tells the family about 
the superiority of pure breeds, 
a metaphor for the Nazi view of 
Jews as untermenschen, or peo-
ple considered to be racially or 
socially inferior.
The film progresses with the 
enactment of the Nuremberg 
Laws, a collection of laws passed 
in Nazi Germany that deprived 
Jews of their rights. We see the 
housekeeper of the family being 
told she can no longer work 
for Jews, followed by a law that 
prohibits Jews from owning 
pets. This leaves the film’s main 
character, 10-year-old Joshua 
(August Maturo), forced to part 
ways with his beloved German 
shepherd, Kaleb.

As Kaleb becomes a street 
dog, he’s eventually captured 
and then adopted by an SS 
dog trainer (Ken Duken) who 
trains the dog to round up and 
terrorize Jewish prisoners at a 
Nazi work camp. It’s at the camp 
where Kaleb is finally reunited 
with Joshua, though the young 
boy is now a prisoner. 
Though the film is billed as 
a family feature, it’s far from it. 
It delves into harrowing scenes 
of concentration camps, which 
realistically are not fit for a 
family audience. It also deals 
with complex, difficult sce-
narios suited for adult crowds 
only. The first half of the film 
seems to drag, while the second 
half finally picks up speed that 
should have been present from 
the start.
The acting also leaves much 
to be desired. Shepherd: The 
Story of a Jewish Dog had much 
potential, telling the story of the 
Holocaust through the lens of 
the unbreakable companionship 
between man and dog. It’s an 
angle seldom seen, if at all. Yet 
both the storyline and cast fell 
short of properly capturing the 
intense emotions of that devas-
tating time in history. 

SHEPHERD MOVIE

Shepherd: The Story 
of a Jewish Dog

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

FILM REVIEW

A Violin Tribute 
to the Holocaust

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL CENTER • ZEKELMAN FAMILY CAMPUS

Virtual Program
Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 7 pm EDT

www.holocaustcenter.org/upcoming

Join acclaimed French violinist 

Arnaud Sussmann for a 

performance and live Q&A.

Photo Credit: Carlin-Ma
248.553.2400 • www.holocaustcenter.org

HHHHH

Call Today! 248.919.1244 
synergyhomecare.com/oaklandcounty

Care for 
Everyone 

 Mom gave you 

her best - now 

she deserves 

the best!

Call Jeanne Atkinson for the best 
home care in Oakland County!

Discreet, light housekeeping, grocery shopping, 

meal preparation, running errands, transportation, 

companionship and personal care.

