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James Marsh

4/5 stars
Unfolding in near real-time, Kaouther Ben Hania’s riveting docudrama The Voice of Hind Rajab recreates the desperate efforts of Red Crescent workers to rescue a young Palestinian girl trapped in a car in the Gaza Strip after her family is attacked by the Israel Defence Forces.
Seamlessly blending actual voice recordings with dramatic reconstructions, the film is a harrowing and politically potent thriller about the true price of war.
On January 29, 2024, volunteers at a Red Crescent emergency call centre in Ramallah receive a desperate phone call. Five-year-old Hind Rajab, known as Hanood, is trapped in a car with six murdered family members after the vehicle was fired upon by Israeli forces.


Phone operators Omar (Motaz Malhees) and Rana (Saja Kilani) are not only faced with keeping the young child calm but also with cutting through mountains of red tape involving authorities from both sides of the conflict so that they can send a rescue party into the war-torn neighbourhood.
A co-production between France and Tunisia, Ben Hania’s film received the Grand Jury Prize at last year’s Venice International Film Festival, in the process attracting the attention of numerous politically active heavyweights from Hollywood’s upper echelons.
Brad Pitt, Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara and Alfonso Cuaron are just a few of the film’s supporters who came on board as executive producers, helping The Voice of Hind Rajab secure a nomination for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards.
Despite its critical acclaim, some major US distributors shied away from the film for fear of backlash from communities with long-established ties to Israel. While this is less of an issue in other parts of the world, there is no denying the film’s fiercely political stance.


Some critics have also questioned the ethical implications of interweaving actual voice recordings from a devastating tragedy involving very young children into a dramatised re-enactment designed to provoke and, to some degree, entertain.
While responses to these questions will vary from one viewer to the next, the profound impact wielded by Ben Hania’s work is beyond reproach. Bolstered by passionate, heart-wrenching performances from Malhees, Kilani and Amer Hlehel as their boss, the docudrama is a breathless piece of cinema.
By turns devastating and infuriating, The Voice of Hind Rajab forces us to bear witness to the impossible challenges faced by ordinary people as they deal with the collateral damage and relentless carnage wrought by a senseless, seemingly endless conflict.
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Kaouther Ben Hania’s gripping docudrama about a young girl trapped in a car uses real voice recordings to help expose the brutal cost of war


Kaouther Ben Hania’s gripping docudrama about a young girl trapped in a car uses real voice recordings to help expose the brutal cost of war.


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.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Kaouther Ben Hania’s gripping docudrama about a young girl trapped in a car uses real voice recordings to help expose the brutal cost of war

Kaouther Ben Hania’s gripping docudrama about a young girl trapped in a car uses real voice recordings to help expose the brutal cost of war