Wendy Ide 

76 Days review – raw account of the incubation of the coronavirus

This moving fly-on-the-wall documentary from Wuhan conveys the terror – and heroism – that the unknown virus engendered
  
  

Healthworker in full PPE holds hand of elderly woman in bed wearing oxygen mask
76 Days charts the world’s first Covid lockdown in Wuhan, capturing human struggles and resilience. Photograph: No credit

Winter 2020 in Wuhan, China: ground zero for the coronavirus epidemic. This urgent fly-on-the-wall documentary, shot in four hospitals during the 76 days of lockdown in Wuhan, shows the “fearless soldiers”, as one grateful patient describes the doctors and nurses, on the frontline of a battle with a then unknown foe.

It is, at times, harrowing. The film doesn’t shy away from grief at its rawest, fear at its most paralysing. There are moments – the swollen fingers of an elderly patient clinging to the hand of a stranger invisible behind layers of PPE – that are wrenchingly sad. But crucially, there’s also an element of hope and even humour in this affecting tribute to healthcare workers everywhere.

Watch a trailer for 76 Days
 

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