The Voice of Hind Rajab

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ movieswetextedabout.com/the-voice-of-hind-rajab-movie-review-an-essential-uncomfortable-document-of-our-era/ "The Voice of Hind Rajab transcends the barrier of cinema to establish itself as an essential, uncomfortable document of our era. By merging the undeniable authenticity of a child's voice with the raw dramatization of the rescuers' bureaucratic impotence, Kaouther Ben Hania offers not a movie for entertainment, but a painful mirror reflecting our own apathy toward tragedies that are far too common. It's an urgent reminder that the cost of silence isn't paid in Gaza, but by all of our humanity. May her voice, reaching us through the screen, be the call to action that finally tears us away from indifference."

Some movies entertain. Some movies enlighten. And some movies haunt you to the core in ways that are difficult to put into words. That description is most aptly applied to the latest offering from writer-director Kaouther Ben Hania, a fact-based dramatization that skillfully, sensitively yet effectively straddles the line between documentary and narrative features in a chillingly realistic story that can’t help but move viewers and leave an indelible impression on one’s soul. In January 2024, volunteer members of the Palestinian Red Crescent Society stationed in Ramallah in the Occupied Territories’ West Bank receive a harrowing phone call from a terrified six-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, who is trapped in a car with five deceased relatives killed in an ambush by Israeli Defense Forces as the family sought to flee the Gaza Strip while under siege from IDF troops. The emergency response workers, Omar (Motaz Malhees), Rana (Saja Kilani), Nisreen (Clara Khoury) and Mahdi (Amer Hlehel), desperately struggle to get an ambulance to the frightened child to evacuate her from an embattled location riddled with ubiquitous gunfire and menacing tanks, circumstances that deeply scare her and that she’s understandably unable to comprehend. Unfortunately, the Red Crescent staff’s hands are tied; they’re located 52 miles from Gaza yet have been assigned to process rescue efforts from a distance given the closure of the organization’s operations in the battle-torn region. And, if their remote location weren’t challenging enough, they’re frustrated by an elaborate “coordination” protocol that they must follow to safeguard rescue vehicles entering the combat zone, forcing them to wait for a “green light” to proceed, all the while listening to Hind’s panicked cries for help that doesn’t come. But what makes this film so particularly unsettling is that Hind’s pleas during the ordeal are the actual tapes of her voice that were recorded by Red Crescent as the incident unfolded. Knowing that makes this an especially anguishing cinematic experience for viewers, particularly since the audio of Hind’s voice is the only tie that audience members and the rescue workers have to her as these unspeakable atrocities are inflicted upon her, leaving both characters and viewers with an unfathomable sense of utter helplessness. It should thus go without saying that this is a truly difficult watch, one that may be more stressful than what many moviegoers (particularly sensitive viewers) can realistically bear. At the same time, though, this is also an exceedingly poignant vehicle for driving home the depth of the ineffable inhumanity taking place during this barbaric scenario. It naturally begs the question, how could anyone (or any military or political body) possibly be so inherently and uncaringly cruel? As a consequence, one can’t help but be powerfully affected by this release, both in terms of invoking the seemingly incongruent combination of profound compassion and suitably justified outrage. It’s the kind of film that we all must see to get an accurate appreciation of the callous brutality that’s thoughtlessly transpiring around us (and, as recent events have shown, not just in Gaza, either). For a picture like this, it’s difficult to talk about it in terms of accolades and honors, but, in its own way, “The Voice of Hind Rajab” has deservedly garnered considerable recognition at film festivals, in awards competitions and from film critics organizations, including a well-earned Golden Globe Award nomination for best foreign language film. It’s regrettable that it takes material like this to make us aware us of the pain and horror that’s going on unchecked in our world today. But that knowledge is ultimately far more valuable to us than willfully turning a blind eye and looking the other way. We stand to lose a lot more by following that course, and, in this day and age, that’s simply unacceptable

Using actors complemented by some original audio from the digital recordings of a young girl who is trapped in the wreckage of car on the outskirts of Gaza, this tautly tells the tale of the attempt to rescue her. The volunteer controllers are in Ramallah, but they have ambulance eight minutes from her location. “Omar” (Motaz Malhees) is the man running the call, and he assures the young lass that help will be there soon. Sadly, though, what ensues sees him discover that despite the best efforts of himself, his supervisor “Rana” (Saja Kilani) and their experienced co-ordinator “Mahdi” (Amer Hlehel), this is going to prove anything but straightforward. The more they speak with the girl, the more pleading her cries become and the more frustrating it becomes for three people, and their counsellor “Nisreen” (Clara Khoury) desperate to help but constrained by red tape. Now this is isn’t an administrative sort of bureaucracy, this is one more matter of life and death. The Red Crescent must responsibly go though intermediaries to get to the Israeli army and then await an approved route, then a green light. If it is to come at all, this will take precious time, and as the finger-nail biting starts to take it’s toll, friction soon becomes evident in the office where their map clearly shows how simple this operation ought to be. Meantime, the chats with Hind as she anxiously describes the adjacent tanks coupled with the audio of bullets flying and metal crunching all creates an environment of genuine terror. Though this is about one very specific zone of conflict, I suspect it could apply to a great many areas of the world where armed intervention is the standard response to strife. Collateral damage isn’t just calculated in terms of land or buildings, but in the countless lives of innocent people who are in the wrong place at the wrong time. The accumulating fear in her voice is heart-rending to listen to and though we never see her, her presence is easily the most impactful throughout this poignant dramatisation. What it did miss, for me anyway, was an explanation. We rather hurry through the conclusion but I felt that some sort of response from the authorities would have enhanced this. Not that it would likely have seen any admissions of guilt or liability, but at least it might have been an acknowledgment that this, and incidents like it, are happening on a daily basis to the extent that being a rescuer in a blue-lit vehicle is no safer than being a child travelling with her aunt and uncle in a family saloon.