‘Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog’ Review: WW2 Movies Frames the Holocaust Through a Dog’s Eyes
Courtney Howard Writer-director Lynn Roth instinctively knows how to pluck the heartstrings with her heartrending historical drama, “Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog.” Her adaptation retains the wit and wisdom found within the pages of Asher Kravitz’s novel “The Jewish Dog,” whose unconventional conceit chronicling the Holocaust through the perspective of a German Shepherd lends itself to plenty of poetic and fantastical realism on screen. Yet the family-friendly feature all too frequently falls into conventional trappings that it unwittingly sets up for itself, particularly when it strays from the pup’s point of view.Kaleb is born surrounded by the love of a Jewish German family, the final puppy birthed on a warm, sunny day.