76 DAYS (12)
★★★★★
THIS month marked the first anniversary of the world’s first Covid lockdown.
On January 23, 2020, the residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan were ordered to stay at home while hospital workers struggled to cope with a flood of admissions.
In the panic, two documentary film-makers managed to keep their cameras rolling. The footage, smuggled out digitally, has been assembled into a remarkable historical document by Chineseamerican film-maker Hao Wu.
For those of us suffering in what will hopefully turn out to be the UK peak, it may feel a little too soon to watch this film. But, thankfully, it isn’t quite as grim as it sounds.
After an apocalyptic scene where a large group of infected locals batter on the locked entrance of the hospital, the doctors and nurses take control and calm their patients with heartbreaking individual acts of kindness.
■ On digital now
■ Review by Andy Lea