Nina is a skilled obstetrician at a maternity hospital in Eastern Georgia. After a tragedy strikes in the delivery room, the grief stricken father demands an inquiry into her methods. The resulting scrutiny threatens to bring to light Nina’s other, secret job - driving, through the stunningly beautiful countryside, to the village homes of pregnant girls and women to provide unsanctioned abortions – and to destroy the work that is the only source of meaning in her life.
Dea Kulumbegashvili's highly anticipated second feature won the Special Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival and reunites Kulumbegashvili with key collaborators from her debut feature Beginning (2020), including award-winning actors Ia Sukhitashvili and Kakha Kintsurashvili.
The Garden Cinema View:
April is a daring and challenging film that boldly experiments with visual language while tackling a difficult subject matter. Addressing abortion ethics and patriarchy in Georgia's obstetrics profession, it transcends straightforward narratives and reassuring closures.
Formally, the film draws inspiration from various sources ranging from Tarkovsky to Jonathan Glazer, and even The Substance, combining documentary elements with the grotesque. Its flow is intercepted by unsettling POV sequences featuring animalistic breathing and erratic environmental surveillance, creating a disorienting experience that is amplified by the magnificently eerie sound design by Matthew Herbert.
The most fascinating aspect of the film is its complex protagonist - sympathetic in her mission to help women access abortions, yet carrying unspecified emotional baggage that adds depth to her character whilst also provoking suspicion. This ambiguity makes explanations elusive and adds to the film's desolate charm.
