The Rye Horn is set in 1971, on an island off the coasts of Spain. Maria divides her time between work as a midwife, a livestock caretaker, and a part-time worker at the beach. One day, she gets into trouble when she performs an abortion on a teenage girl. An unexpected tragedy happens and forces her to leave the village. She flees to a border town between Spain and Portugal to try to survive. The Rye Horn begins with ten minutes of intimate footage of a house filled with the ragged moans of a woman about to give birth. It then tells a story of motherhood and sisterhood through a variety of female bodies that suffer, desire, and bleed. Notably, it is women who provide Maria, a fugitive, with a safe place to sleep and food. The secret collusion of desperate hearts, unusual care, and solidarity of survival resonate deeply. This is the second feature film by Spanish female director Jaione Camborda. (LEE Juhyun)