Time: 89 Minutes
Cast:
Saja Kilani as Rana Hassan Faqih
Motaz Malhees as Omar A. Alqam
Amer Hlehel as Mahdi M. Aljamal
Clara Khoury as Nisreen Jeries Qawas
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania

I remember hearing the story of Hind Rajab at the time it happened in January 2024; during Israel’s open ongoing genocide of Palestinians, the six year old girl in Gaza was killed by the IDF alongside much of her family despite the best efforts to rescue her. As you can imagine, the fact that someone made a movie about this grabbed my attention, and it definitely grabbed a lot of other peoples’ attention as it received critical acclaim, and it was recently nominated at the Oscars. Devastating was the word for this viewing experience.

This entire 90 minute movie is set entirely in a dispatch centre as the people attempt to coordinate Hind’s rescue. It is a reenactment of true events but what especially stands out is the fact that they used the real life audio of Hind during the calls. One has the reasonable concern that this movie could’ve been exploitative, even if permission was given for this. However, I don’t think it was. It doesn’t turn things into a spectacle, there are no cutaways to a recreation of Hind hiding in the car as it’s being shot by the IDF, you only hear the gunshots through the phone audio. It’s also worth keeping in mind that most people who watch the movie probably haven’t heard the audio before. The Voice of Hind Rajab fully confronts, holds you captive and faces you with the true horror that you can’t look away from, and hearing her authentic voice is haunting. It’s very uncomfortable, frustrating, and harrowing to watch, and by the end you are left feeling helpless. Basically everyone who goes into the movie knows the outcome of events already, but even without knowing anything beforehand, the rescue failure and Hind’s death isn’t treated as some twist or surprise at the end because you seem to know that it’s coming. The fact is that despite all the efforts made and all the coordination and procedure following, there was nothing that could be done, the system (i.e. the Israeli government) worked as intended. With much of the filmmaking style being akin to a documentary, one could say that The Voice of Hind Rajab could’ve been a documentary recounting the events instead of a feature film. However, the movie is a dramatic reenactment of these events for a reason. It attempts to get through to audiences (especially Western audiences) through the medium of film, while the use of Hind’s actual voice is a constant reminder that this actually happened and asks how this could happen and continue happening.

The movie is strongly acted from its contained and limited cast in Saja Kilani, Motaz Malhees, Amer Hlehel and Clara Khoury. The characters are based on real people as they are trying to help, but knowing that they can’t do more. The performances feel real and urgent, conveying tension and helplessness as they try to remain calm and adding a lot of weight to the film.

Kaouther Ben Hania’s strong direction was particularly important for this movie working as well as it did. She previously made documentaries, so it makes sense that The Voice of Hind Rajab was filmed like one and the use of handheld cameras really help make things feel in the moment. The previously mentioned use of Hind’s voice is key too and incredibly effective, and with that, the use of sound is stellar and essential, including the use of silence.

The Voice of Hind Rajab is necessary viewing, excellently crafted and performed and absolutely devastating and harrowing, it really speaks for itself.