Macht Euch keine Sorgen (2018)

The Schenk family leads an uneventful life in a Berlin suburb. One day, officials from the State Criminal Police Office and Inspector Matthias Lehnert arrive at their home and search the room of their youngest son, Jakob. According to the investigation, he is said to have joined the Islamic State in the Middle East. The parents look for him in Spain, where Jakob is supposedly on vacation with his friend Sebastian, but discover that he is not there. Together with Jakob’s older brother David, Stefan and Simone Schenk begin investigating Jakob’s private life. They find out that Jakob did in fact travel to the Middle East with another acquaintance, Falk. His recent, repeated displays of interest in Islam were therefore not just some kind of whim. Stefan and David Schenk travel to the Middle East to look for Jakob. After a long and dangerous search, they manage to get money to a restaurant owner, Mr. Hadad. Immediately afterward, Jakob is back with them. They return to Germany. But the problems are only just beginning. Why is Jakob searching online for the address of a Jewish restaurant? Where does he spend most of his afternoons? Tensions mount within his family, as well as on the badminton team where Jakob trains. Can his parents trust him? Can Stefan and Simone Schenk’s employers trust them? Only as time passes does their relationship begin to relax. When Stefan asks whether Jakob still prays, Jakob says no. One evening, when Stefan enters Jakob’s room, he finds him praying on a prayer rug, facing Mecca. The film deliberately leaves open the question of the extent to which Jakob is still under the influence of ISIS.