'The Voice of Hind Rajab' review: Why the Gaza docufiction is a hard watch

There’s good reason why The Voice of Hind Rajab can be deemed a psychological horror. Because in its subject and storytelling, the docufiction serves as a bleak reminder of the horrors of the war in Gaza. That horror is not just about what the body experiences alone; it’s also about what the mind witnesses, the scars that may or may not heal. If The Voice of Hind Rajab is not for the faint-hearted, it is because some of the most poignant moments are interspersed with real-life footage and audio recordings of the Red Crescent rescue workers’ interaction with five-year-old Hind Rajab who pled for her life to be saved. A trope that makes it impossible to watch the film with any kind of moral or emotional distance.

The film centres on the five-year-old Palestinian girl who finds herself trapped in a car with six members of her family who were shot dead by the IDF. Her fate hangs between hope (that she might just be rescued) and hopelessness (that she will eventually meet the same fate as the rest of the family members). The rescue workers at Red Crescent start off calm and composed, constantly assuring Hind Rajab that help is on its way. But when they find themselves navigating the complexity of coordinated help, their own unravelling begins. Coordination, in a war zone, means that a safe passage must also be afforded to ambulances. It is one of the most challenging jobs — strategically as well as morally — but one that must be done with a lot of thinking and consideration so that more lives are not lost. Which is why, at one point in the film, you are almost tempted to see the coordinator in question (Mehdi, played by Palestinian actor Amer Hlehel) as the villain when he’s not. Someone has to keep it together. In this case, it’s him.

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You are almost tempted to see him as the villain, but his silent helplessness is evident when he begins explaining the ‘procedure’. It is bureaucratic but necessary to protect the lives of other rescue workers.

In an interaction that followed right after the film's premiere at Cinema Akil, the director, Kaouther Ben Hania, said that the choice of telling the story from the perspective of the rescue workers was a deliberate one. After watching the film, you know why. It is through their own breakdowns that we imagine the horrors Hind Rajab is experiencing. If listening to a five-year-old’s cries for help can break you down then it’s only left to the imagination what she must really be enduring. We know there is blood around her, on her. The injuries are physical, psychological and moral.

Ben Hania keeps the movie’s pace intact. Strangely, she is even able to inject hope in certain parts of the film, even though one knows how the film will eventually end. Moments after their fight, Omar (the rescue worker in touch with Hind Rajab) and Mahdi (the coordinator) are seen playing a game on their phones. It’s a coping mechanism to endure the grim reality of their job. There is hope in Hind Rajab’s voice itself that while crying for help trusts that she’ll be rescued.

The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival a few months ago where it received a standing ovation for over 20 minutes. Glowing reviews followed, but many also registered discomfort with the use of real audio recordings in the film. It’s only when you watch The Voice of Hind Rajab that you understand this politics of authenticity. Using real footage and audio clips not only reinforces the lived reality of Hind Rajab, it puts the audience right in the middle of the narrative where they cannot look away. And look away, we do not!

The Voice of Hind Rajab

Directed by: Kaouther Ben Hania

Starring: Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Amer Hlehel

Stars: 4/5

Anamika Chatterjee

Staff Writer

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anamika@khaleejtimes.com

Anamika Chatterjee is Associate Editor, Features at Khaleej Times. A senior journalist, she helms arts, culture, entertainment and lifestyle verticals for the print and digital platforms of the publication.