Ronit Elkabetz and Menashe Noy
“GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM” My rating: B+
115 minutes | No MPAA rating
One could hardly find a better way to observe Women’s History Month than with “Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem,” a journey down the rabbit hole of Israeli divorce court that gives patriarchal attitudes a swift kick in the tush.
Civil marriage and divorce don’t exist in Israel. Both are under the jurisdiction of rabbinical courts which will acknowledge a divorce only after a husband officially grants one. In certain circumstances — if he’s committed adultery or physically abused his wife — a man may be compelled by the court to divorce. Mostly though, the rabbis advise patience and try to get warring couples back together.
It’s a system stacked against women.
In “Gett” (the Hebrew word for divorce), middle-aged Viviane (Ronit Elkabetz) has already lived three years apart from her husband of 30 years, Elisha (Simon Abkarian). Now she is seeking a divorce.
But the passive-aggressive Elisha isn’t cooperating. He won’t even show up for a hearing. Eventually he’s jailed for contempt to force him to appear. Even then he’s totally uncooperative.
Viviane has always been unhappy in a loveless marriage. But technically she hasn’t got much of a case. Simply being miserably married doesn’t qualify.
In the meantime she’s steered clear of other men and continued with certain of her wifely duties, cooking meals that are delivered to Elisha and their youngest child (two older offspring already have moved on).
Still, Elisha stubbornly insists he wants her back. It’s less about love than about control, and to punish Viviane for her temerity in not recognizing his superiority.
Like the hapless defendant in Kafka’s “The Trial,” Viviane’s ordeal will go on for years and years through one absurd situation after another.
Elkabetz, a quietly luminous actress, wrote and directed the film with her brother Shlomi Elkmbetz, and they have employed a rigid visual and presentational format that is hugely effective.
The entire film takes place either in the courtroom or a nearby waiting room — vague, featureless environments with white, undecorated walls and bland industrial furniture. Most of the characters dress only in black and white. The entire movie is monochromatic, with color provided mostly by human flesh. When late in the film a defiant Viviane shows up in a fiery red dress, it’s like a slap at the bearded jaws of her judges.
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