Capernaum - Characters & Cast

Zain is driven by a fierce, instinctual desire for justice and a better life. His primary motivation is to protect those more vulnerable than himself—first his sister Sahar, and then the baby Yonas. Ultimately, he is motivated by the need to be seen and acknowledged as a human being and to prevent others from suffering the same fate.

Zain begins as a hardened, cynical survivor, forced into adulthood by neglect. His arc is not one of drastic change, but of reaffirming his core humanity. Initially focused on his own survival and protecting his sister, his journey evolves when he takes responsibility for the infant Yonas. This act of profound empathy solidifies his moral core. His final act of suing his parents is a desperate attempt to impose meaning and justice on his suffering, transforming him from a passive victim into an active agent demanding accountability.

Rahil's motivation is singular and powerful: to protect her son, Yonas, and secure a future for him. She works a menial job, lives in a shanty, and navigates the dangerous world of forged documents, all for the sake of her child. Her kindness to Zain stems from her maternal instinct and empathy for another vulnerable child.

Rahil's arc is one of tragic descent due to systemic cruelty. She starts as a compassionate and resourceful mother, offering Zain a brief period of stability and kindness. However, her status as an undocumented immigrant makes her constantly vulnerable. Her arc highlights the fragility of survival for those without legal status, as she is arrested and disappears from the narrative, her fate left uncertain, demonstrating how easily people on the margins can be erased.

Their motivation is survival, albeit in a distorted and irresponsible way. They have children they cannot care for, viewing them as both a burden and a potential, albeit minimal, source of income or advantage (e.g., marrying off Sahar). They are trapped in a cycle of poverty and lack the education or resources to break it, continuing to have children as an inevitability of their circumstances.

Zain's parents do not have a developmental arc; they are static characters representing a cycle of poverty and despair. They are presented as the antagonists from Zain's perspective, neglectful and seemingly unremorseful. However, the film subtly suggests they are also victims of the same system that has crushed their son. Their final testimony in court reveals their own desperation and lack of options, not justifying their actions but contextualizing them within a larger societal failure.