Dani Rosenberg’s film Of Dogs and Men, shot and set in the aftermath of the October 7 attack, is striking in its capacity for compassion. The impact and trauma of the attack and ensuing war in Gaza are almost beyond comprehension, and in the years to come will certainly be the focus of both documentary and feature films. Powerful and evocative, Rosenberg’s film, situated between the two genres, and shot in November 2023, in the midst of the nightmare, stands out as a unique testimony in its production and its message.
The film sets a fictional character, 16-year-old Dar (Ori Avinoam), within the setting of Kibbutz Nir Oz and its environs near the border with Gaza. The kibbutz was devastated by the October 7 attack, a quarter of its members were murdered or taken hostage. Dar’s narrative trajectory is fictional – she leaves the hotel in Eilat where evacuees were settled, returning to the kibbutz to search for her lost dog Shula, and in hopes of finding more information about her mother, who is missing. The film follows Dar on her search, augmented by voice over selections from her mother’s diaries, which provide a sense of her life on the kibbutz.
Employing a light camera and small crew, the film has no constructed sets and features non-actors who appear as themselves. The dialogue is mostly improvised, as the fictional Dar encounters kibbutz members and others along her search. These conversations are authentic, reflecting the thoughts and feelings of those who survived the massacre in its immediate aftermath. Most striking is Dar’s conversation with octogenarian Natan Bahat, one of Kibbutz Nir Oz’s founders, and the first person to return to live in the kibbutz. Standing on the roof of a ravaged house, looking out towards Gaza, where the bombs are falling, he tells Dar of his friend in Gaza, Jamal, saying, “I am certain that he wants peace.”
As Dar looks for her dog, the devastation of the attack is evident everywhere, its magnitude and extent are horrifying. This is amplified by the use of existing footage from the news and social media, which Dar views on her phone. The images of Israelis taken hostage, which are both familiar and painful to view, are accompanied by images of the death and destruction in Gaza. These images are presented without comment, as Dar, like any 16-year-old, scrolls through her phone. Yet the film’s message is clear – war does not spare anyone, on both sides of the conflict, innocent lives are destroyed. When Dar catches a ride with journalists, she hears their conversation with a Palestinian lawyer, who tells them, in a voice broken by grief, “I lost more than twenty people of my close family.” Perhaps Nora Lifschitz, who set out on October 8th to rescue animals left adrift by the war, sums it up best, “There’s no creature more awful, more cruel, than human beings.”
Ori Avinoam imbues the character of Dar with a sensitive poignancy and resilience. Alone amid the chaos of war, she claims her agency, choosing action despite her fear and sorrow. In a beautiful, animated segment, Shula the dog runs after a truck carrying hostages to Gaza, and is found by a Palestinian boy. In Dar’s dream or fantasy, with bombs falling all around, the boy is comforted by the dog’s presence. Struggling with her own loss, Dar can still feel empathy and compassion for someone on the other side of the conflict.
Of Dogs and Men
Director: Dani Rosenberg; Screenplay: Rosenberg, Ori Avinoam and Itai Tamir; Cinematography: Ziv Berkovich; Editor: Nili Feller; Music: Yuval Semo; Cast: Ori Avinoam as Dar, As themselves: Natan Bahat, Yamit Avital from Kibbutz Nir Oz, Nora Lifschitz who rescued animals from the area on October 8, 2023
