The Voice Of Hind Rajab review: Kaouther Ben Henia’s heartwrenching film is an uncomfortable, vital wake-up call
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A still from The Voice of Hind Rajab Photograph: (X)
Based on an actual incident that took place in January 2024, The Voice of Hind Rajab bares open the atrocities that have ravaged Palestine due to the war. The docu-drama uses actual audio recordings of the five year old Hind Rajab, which makes the film all the more authentic and raw.
There is a certain uneasiness inside you after you finish watching the Voice of Hind Rajab. The voice of five-year-old Hind Rajab, or Hanood as she was called fondly, continues to echo in your ears hours after the film is over. Directed by Kaouther Ben Henia, the docu-feature blends reality and fiction to deliver a heartwrenching account of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl, Hind Rajab and her urgent pleas on calls to Red Crescent volunteers to rescue her after her family was ambushed by the Israeli forces in January 2024. The Voice Of Hind Rajab is a film that is a testament to the times we live in. And while the semi-fictional semi-real film makes you uncomfortable, angry, emotional and ultimately numb, it is an important watch.
What’s the story of Voice of Hind Rajab?
Five of her family members, including her uncle, aunt and three cousins, were killed as the vehicle in which the family was fleeing Gaza city was shelled. Hind and her 15-year-old cousin Layan survived the first ambush and it was Layan who first made the call to Omar of Red Crescent, pleading for help. The brief call ends abruptly as Layan is shot dead, leaving Omar on the other side of the call, stunned at what he has heard. Minutes later, the Red Crescent gets a tip that there is still a survivor inside the car, hiding from the army, desperately in need of help. Hind, a five-year-old, calls for help, pleading constantly as “I'm so scared, please come. Come take me. Please, will you come?” even as Omar and his supervisor Rana try to soothe her and assure her that help is on the way.
Much like Omar and Rana, you find yourself feeling frustrated at the bureaucratic incompetence as their supervisor Mahdi, insists on following protocols to assure a safe route for the ambulance that is set to rescue Hind.
‘They are all dead’
Some moments are heartbreaking. Henia uses actual audio clippings from the incident and then uses actors to reimagine that day. At one point, Rana tries to soothe the frightened girl that the people next to her in the car, her family members, are all just sleeping because they are tired. Hind cries and blurts out, “They are all dead,” making her rescuers realise that the girl has grown up in a matter of minutes, understanding the gravity of the situation more than anyone could imagine.
Some may find the usage of actual audio clippings to re-tell the incident problematic. Why milk a tragedy as grave as this? But the film is a raw retelling of the war that has ravaged Palestine and left so many innocent people dead. The conflict did not spare the children, which was deeply criticised by the media world over. By using actual audio clips, Henia lays bare the situation for the audience and gives the film more gravitas.
The bureaucratic delay
At the centre of the story are lead actors Saja Kilani as Rana, Motaz Malhees as Omar, and Amer Hlehel as Mahdi, part of the Red Crescent, who are in constant touch with Hind. While Rana and Omar are shown to be deeply involved in getting the little girl out, Mahdi is shown as a man who tries a more practical approach, not wanting to jeopardise the lives of the ambulance drivers who have to get Hind out. While their ambulance is just 8 minutes away from the little girl, Mahdi insists on getting a green channel from the Red Cross and the Israeli army, which had ambushed the car in the first place. The complexity of the situation is grave and with every minute passing, everyone gets more and more anxious of Hind's safety.
Why you should watch The Voice of Hind Rajab
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I am mostly conflicted about films that are based on real-life tragedies. While they help to reach out to a wider audience and make them aware of a said incident, it also feels uncomfortable to go witness it on screen. Yet, I would urge readers to step out to watch this film. It will make you tear up, it will make you angry and anxious, but such emotions are needed to understand the unending atrocities that the war has created in Gaza, where human lives have lost their value, schools, hospitals, homes and ambulances are ambushed, and children are killed.
Voice of Hind Rajab serves as a wake-up call to the world and forces you to sit up and take note of countless other children like Hind, who perhaps pleaded for help minutes before they were killed.
The Voice of Hind Rajab has a limited release in India this Friday. Do not miss it.
