THE VOICE OF HIND RAJAB

(The Middleburg Film Festival ran October 16-19 in Middleburg, Virginia, and lead critic Chris Reed is on the ground doing coverage for us. Check out his The Voice of Hind Rajab movie review! Seen it? Join the conversation with HtN on our Letterboxd Page.)

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania demonstrated, in the Oscar-nominated 2023 Four Daughters, remarkable cinematic creativity in her blend of documentary and fiction techniques, using actors to step in front of the camera to portray real-life subjects in the more difficult emotional sequences. Now, she applies her brilliant inventiveness in service of an even more harrowing subject—the killing of civilians in Gaza post Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel in October 2024—and delivers a movie as enraging as it is remarkable. The Voice of Hind Rajab will impress you even as it breaks your heart and inflames your mind.

6-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab was traveling with members of her own family on January 29, 2024, when the car was bombed by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). She was the only initial survivor. By the end of the night, she would be dead, as well, along with the two ambulance drivers sent to rescue her. Such is life in 21^st-Century Occupied Territories.

Ben Hania uses the original audio from the telephone calls between the workers in the Red Crescent call center and Hind Rajab (aka Hanood), though otherwise the onscreen roles are portrayed by actors. She also brings in actual footage from a final FaceTime video exchange while those same actors play the characters in the background. This hybrid approach results in a visceral narrative where the stakes could not be any higher.

At the center of the conflict is the question of when to send the ambulance and by what route. In order to avoid activity that the IDF might deem suspicious, the Red Crescent must coordinate with the Red Cross to have them pass on a request directly to the IDF. which then approves (gives a “green light”) or not. After that, the process must repeat itself over the route the ambulance should take. Turn right or left at the wrong place and you may be shot.

Call-center director Mahdi (Amer Hlehel) errs on the side of caution, having already lost an alarmingly large number of colleagues to IDF gunfire. He knows that if the bureaucratic procedures are not followed to the letter, additional lives might be lost. Yes, it’s terrible that poor Hanood is all alone in a vehicle filled with corpses, but it would be worse if more death follows. Ironically, none of this ultimately matters.

Omar (Motaz Malhees), however, who took the original phone call from the girl, is not happy with the delay, calling out Mahdi for the interminable delays. But what exactly is that man to do? It’s devastating to watch their increasingly urgent conversations. Joined by colleagues Nisreen (Clara Khoury) and Rana (Saja Kilani), they fight over next steps and how quickly to act. We watch, anger and trepidation building within us.

As horrible as its outcome may be, The Voice of Hind Rajab is gripping throughout. Though in our present moment the issue of Israel and Gaza is a divisive one, surely we can all come together to agree that killing children is bad. Can’t we? If this movie doesn’t persuade you of that basic tenet, then you are lost. May you one day find your way.

– Christopher Llewellyn Reed (@ChrisReedFilm)

Middleburg Film Festival; Kaouther Ben Hania; The Voice of Hind Rajab movie review

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