Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
Music Box Films
Golden Globes Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film and an Official Selection at the Cannes Film Festival, this is a heart-rending portrait of a woman's struggle to overcome patriarchy to live a life of her own design.
Viviane Amsalem (Ronit Elkabetz) is seeking a divorce from her estranged husband, and finds herself effectively put on trial by Israel's powerful religious establishment. After three years, her devout husband Elisha (Simon Abkarian of Casino Royale and Persepolis) still refuses to accede. His cold intransigence, Viviane's determination, and the ambiguous role of the rabbinical judges shape a powerful courthouse drama where tragedy vies with absurdity, and everything is brought out into the open for judgment.
"Expertly written, brilliantly acted...The beautifully modulated script, ripe with moments of liberating humor, builds to a crescendo of indignation, allowing Elkabetz several cathartic outbursts, but they're no more riveting than the actress' silences." - Jay Weissberg, Variety
"Densely rich drama, told with stringent austerity but also humor and judicious empathy...an altogether strange but astonishing work of craftsmanship." - Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter
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Comments (3)
First rate. A superb film on all counts. The performance of Ronit Elkabetz both when she is verbal and silent is extraordinary.
Superb acting. It's unsettling that there is so much meddling, especially by men, in the lives of this couple, and that the whole process lasted as long as it did. I can imagine this happens in real life - what a nightmare.
I remember this watching film and was blown away by the performance of Ronit Elkabetz. I am now a fan Menache Noy & Shlomi Elkabetz