A humble water carrier finds himself thrown into the streets of imperial Vienna in the bitter twilight of an order, a faith, a tottering world. Mendel, the water carrier is the story of a humble and simple man who is forced to open up to a new horizon. It is a world full of promise but also sullen and gloomy, cracked by war and hopelessness. For this elderly Jew, perhaps in this new world there is no longer room for humble and simple water carriers. Perhaps he must test himself, put aside his faith, his vocation and his own mood, in order to survive. Although in truth this new life cannot offer him many perspectives either.