18/11/2024 - Steve Bache’s debut feature is a hard watch owing to its highly controversial subject but is an accomplished work, all things considered

Robin Sondermann (left) and Carlo Krammling in No Dogs Allowed

Let’s get straight to the point: No Dogs Allowed is a picture that’s hard to forget, for both good and bad reasons. In his debut feature, screening in the First Feature Competition at Tallinn Black Nights, Pirna-born filmmaker Steve Bache zooms in on a 15-year-old boy called Gabo (Carlo Krammling), who seems like a normal teenager spending his days at school, seeing friends and playing video games. But he’s not, as we soon find out that he is developing uncontrollable tendencies. He befriends a forty-something man, Dave (Robin Sondermann), with whom he explores a friendship that rapidly turns into something more sordid. The first turning point in the narrative unfolds when Dave is arrested on suspicion of statutory rape, and Gabo is torn between testifying against him and exposing his own murky secret.

Understandably, paedophilia remains quite a taboo topic in people’s conversations, let alone in depictions in film and TV projects, with one recent exception being the critically acclaimed Marc Dutroux biopic Maldoror [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Fabrice Du Welz
film profile], premiered at Venice and helmed by Fabrice Du Welz. Nevertheless, Bache and his skilled writer, Stephan Kämpf, adopt a brave stance and decide to tackle it with both rawness and a sense of control. Bache’s directorial approach and Kämpf’s screenplay are harsh since they do not sugarcoat or hide anything along the way; yet, they are exceedingly careful as they gradually manage to transport viewers into a territory that is extremely unsettling, doing so one step at a time but still placing them in a position of being torn between two moral judgements.

In this picture, everything is rightly being challenged – the school system, the relationship between parents and their children, the easy access to pornography and dating apps, and the lack of psychological support. Commendably, the script – and in particular its dialogue – never falls into rhetorical trappings, as Kämpf keeps the overall tone crude yet realistic. Much responsibility is also imposed on the whole cast, with the performances of Krammling and Sondermann being particularly striking and presumably the result of extensive preparatory work.

Technically speaking, one of the qualities that stands out is the cinematography, courtesy of Manuel Meinhardt, as it manages to effectively convey the lead character’s emotional turmoil – including his darkest instincts – while never falling into the clichés of overemphasis. It strikes a balance between static and moving shots when it comes to framing Gabo or showing us his point of view. In addition, Andreas Pfeiffer’s subtle score is also spot on.

All in all, Bache’s debut is an accomplished work. The helmer decides to kick off his career in the feature-film business with one of the hardest subjects ever, and does so with tact and solid directing. It’s a start that bodes well for his future – that of a filmmaker who probably believes cinema is not there to mirror reality but, rather, to dig deep into it, even at the cost of uncovering its horrors and disgraces.

No Dogs Allowed was produced by Germany’s ZDF and Schiwago Film.