Eleven Days in May review – a heartwrenching hymn to Gaza’s murdered children
Michael Winterbottom's horrifying yet empathetic documentary shows us the true face of Israeli violence in its occupied territories
A sense of righteous and furious moral clarity fuels this heartbreaking documentary from Michael Winterbottom and Mohammed Sawwaf about Israel’s eleven day bombing campaign in Gaza in May 2021 and the more than 60 Palestinian children massacred in these attacks. With narration provided by Kate Winslet, Winterbottom and Sawwaf give some brief context to the escalation of violence seen in Gaza last year, but spend the vast majority of Eleven Days in May’s runtime focused in on the murdered kids and the grieving families they left behind.
Using photos and videos taken by families and friends, the film introduces us to each child – ages ranging from 17 years to just 7 months – and the life they led, from their day-to-day routines to favourite football teams, before hearing tributes from their loved ones. It’s a deliberately repetitive process, as we’re systematically led through the day-by-day casualties, and its eventual cumulative power is staggering, grief and anger pinning you to your seat.
Eleven Days in May is relentless, and never lets you look away from any of the bombings’ most horrifying consequences – a scene in which a father tenderly kisses his daughter’s forehead in a morgue after her face has been split by shrapnel will shake you to your core – all while maintaining its total empathy. Winterbottom and Sawwaf generally let moments like these speak for themselves, but their occasional use of Max Richter’s music is inspired – he’s perhaps the only composer whose pieces can complement the emotional realities at play here, instead of cheapening them.
In a conflict that receives so much useless talk of both-sidesism and emotionally distant realpolitik, a film like this is absolutely vital, a full-throated and blood-soaked reminder that, when all the speeches are done, Israel’s military is still indiscriminately slaughtering Palestine’s children. It’s an unmissable message, housed in an extraordinary film.
Eleven Days in May is released in UK cinemas on 6 May.
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