Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
Get — Ha'mishpat shel Vivian Amsalem

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem is the latest film from the Israeli brother-and-sister writing/directing team of Shlomi and Ronit Elkabetz (Take a Wife, 7 Days).  Ronit Elkabetz—whose performances in films like Late Marriage (2001) and The Band's Visit (2007) made her one of Israel’s most acclaimed actresses—plays the titular 40 year-old Israeli woman who hopes to finalize a divorce from her disobliging husband. Unlike in America, where civil divorce is a relatively simple and common procedure between two essentially equal parties, Viviane Amsalem is subject to her nation’s draconian, religiously-based marriage laws. Along with Viviane, the audience experiences a seemingly endless, Kafkaesque trial, overseen by rabbis who can only grant a Gett (a dissolution of marriage) if her husband fully consents, which he simply refuses to do.

The minimalist picture, shot with intense formality in essentially one sparely decorated location, might at first seem more suited to the stage than the big screen. But the claustrophobic nature of the limited setting enhances the drama in ways that would be difficult to achieve in a theater. The anxious simplicity of the staging enables viewers to experience the characters’ anger, desperation, hope, and exasperation in the most maddeningly palpable ways. 

The cast is amazing across the board—I’d love to see these same actors do an evening of Harold Pinter plays on some tiny stage! As the advocates for the opposing parties, Sasson Gabai (The Band's Visit, Rambo III) playing the husband’s brother, and newcomer Menashe Noy, as Viviane’s secular lawyer, bring passion and conviction to the surreal, borderline absurdist proceedings. Simon Ebkarian (Casino Royale, Persepolis) exquisitely counters the intensity created by the rest of the cast through the exasperating blankness of Viviane’s husband Elisha. 

The film is a fascinating metaphor for (and real-life illustration of) the victimization of women that results when state and religious institutions favor patriarchal traditions over actual justice. Gett is both an important cultural exposé and an exceptional dramatic work. It was Israel’s entry for the 2014 Foreign Language Oscar. Though it was not selected by the Academy, it won Israel’s equivalent of Best Picture.