Dea Kulumbegashvili is a star of Georgian cinema and a director who makes desperately needed women’s films in the current era. Her debut film, Beginning (2020), features a woman who suffers physical harm, and the director demonstrates in April that this issue is not confined to the psychological trauma of one woman. Both films expose the existential threat that violent sexual relations pose to women. Nina, who is on the verge of losing her job due to a medical accident in the cruel month of April, has a secret. She cannot turn away from women suffering from unwanted pregnancies, and she takes on their burden herself. These women have no rights over their own bodies. The 4:3 aspect ratio reflects the reality of characters trapped by social, religious, and cultural constraints, while the unwavering, static camera supports the intense resolve of both the characters and the director. April, a cruel story of silence crossing through “the Three Goddesses governing childbirth, pretty flowers, and country roads,” is a deeply piercing record of bodies that have been trampled upon. (LEE Yong Cheol)