Gett - The trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem is a contemporary drama which premiered in 2014.

 

The story set in Israel. The main character is a Jewish woman who wants to get a divorce from her husband. But she cannot do that, because he says no.

 

Gett is the Hebrew word for divorce.

 

In Israel, marriage and divorce are not matters of civil law; they are matters of religious law.

 

In a religious court in Israel, the word of a woman does not carry the same weight as the word of a man.

 

Here is some basic information about this drama:

 

** Writers and directors: Ronit Elkabetz (1964-2016) and Shlomi Elkabetz (born 1972) (sister and brother)

** Available on DVD and via Amazon Prime Video

** Language: mostly Hebrew and sometimes French

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 120 minutes

 

The cast includes the following:

 

** Ronit Elkabetz (1964-2016) as Viviane Amsalem – the wife

** Simon Abkarian as Elisha Amsalem – the husband

** Menashe Noy as Carmel Ben Tovim – Viviane’s lawyer

** Sasson Gabai as Rabbi Shimon – Elisha’s lawyer

** Eli Gorenstein as Rabbi Solomon – the chief judge of the court

 

When the story begins, the couple has been separated for three years. Viviane moved out of the home and left her husband. For three years, she has been asking him to grant a divorce. For three years, he has said no. Now she has had enough. Now she takes the case to court.

 

In this drama, we follow the case over a period of two years. While fictional, the story - written by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz - is inspired by the experience of their mother and it plays out in accordance with the laws of Israel.

 

I am sure many viewers will be quite surprised about this aspect of life in present-day Israel.

 

All scenes take place in the small courtroom or the small waiting room outside the courtroom. It feels like a theatre play that has been turned into a movie.

 

What do reviewers say about this drama?

 

Here are the results of three review aggregators:

 

** 77 percent = IMDb

** 90 percent = Meta

** 81 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

** 100 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

 

On Amazon there are at the moment more than 430 ratings of this product, more than 380 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.2 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 84 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are quite good. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with many of them.

 

When you look at Rotten Tomatoes, you can see that there is a significant gap between the general audience and the professional critics. Often, the critics are right, but in this case, I have to side with the audience.

 

The topic is important. The story about this topic deserves to be told. But this case is not quite successful.

 

This drama is good, but not great. This is why I think it deserves a rating of four stars (80 percent).

 

PS # 1. Ronit Elkabetz was an actress and a director who lived in Israel and in France. She died in 2016 following a long battle with cancer.

 

PS # 2. Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz have also worked together on the movies To Take a Wife (2004) and Seven Days (2008).

 

Gett: The trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014) is the third and final instalment of a trilogy about marriage and divorce in Israel.

 

PS # 2. Fraidy Reiss - a Jewish-American woman – is an activist who campaigns against arranged and forced marriages in the United States.

 

In 2011, she founded an organisation which is called Unchained at Last.

 

Visit the website and google her name to find more information about this topic.

 

If you do this, you will see how the life of Fraidy Reiss is connected with the story that is told in the Israeli contemporary drama Gett.

 

REFERENCE

 

Marriage and Divorce in the Jewish State:

Israel’s Civil War

By Susan M. Weiss and Netty C. Gross-Horowitz

(2012)

 

*****

Gett:

The trial of Viviane Amsalem

A contemporary drama

Hebrew poster

(2014)

 

*****