GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM – The Review

The legal dissolution of a marriage has been dramatic fodder for serious films throughout the years, including KRAMER VS KRAMER and THE SUM OF US. Oh, and even a few comedies like THE WAR OF THE ROSES (but it’s very, very dark). Husband and wife are treated equally in the court (when the lawyers aren’t able to work things out) as the judge and jurors decide how the union will end. But what about other countries, other cultures? What occurs when one spouse apparently has all the power in the proceedings? Such is the conflict in this new film set in Israel, where a trio of rabbis decide one woman’s fate. And since there’s no claims of adultery or physical abuse, the divorce decree can only happen if the husband will consent. That’s the main obstacle and conflict in GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM.

The film begins in the classroom-sized courtroom (most of the film is set there along with the exterior hallway and waiting lounge). Viviane (Ronit Elkabetz) and her lawyer, Haim (Gabi Amrani) are seated at a table across from a trio of rabbi judges. She is there to terminate her long marriage, but no one is at the nearby table. Her husband has refused to appear once more. New court dates are set and ignored by him. Finally Elisha (Simon Abkarian) attends. Haim explains that the couple have not lived under the same roof for months. Vivian has moved in with her sister’s family, while being visited by her three children and working at a beauty salon. She pleads to end the marriage because she has fallen out of love with Elisha. The judges inquire about illicit affairs (none) or beatings (none). Will he agree to end their marriage? Absolutely not. And so the judgement comes down that Viviane should move back in while they both work on repairing the relationship. But in just a few weeks she returns to plead for a “gett” (divorce). This begins a long series of court dates that stretch from weeks to months to years. Often Elisha refuses to show up, eventually earning him a brief jail sentence. But this does not move him, as he finally hires a lawyer. Witnesses are called, neighbors, fellow synagogue members, even Vivian’s sister and her husband testify to the dormant union, but the judges will not intervene without his consent. All parties involved wonder if this circle of Hell will ever come to a merciful, grinding halt.

Co-writer and director Elkabetz is on camera for nearly the entire film as the title character and commands the screen with a sense of controlled strength and suppressed frustration. Her desire is so simple, so basic, but the system seems to be designed to marginalize and oppress her. Viviane will not quietly live in the little box that society has built for her. She sits silently through most of the proceedings until her anger is finally uncorked near the conclusion. It’s cathartic for her character and the audience (we almost want to yell, “Tell em’ sister!”). Abkarian exudes his own resolve as the immovable spouse. He too sits quietly, but also seems to have an almost permanent sneer, as if being there were beneath his dignity. Perhaps that’s one of the reasons he refuses to co-operate, his pride wishing to remain with a woman who no longer cares for him in order to keep up appearances in the community. At other times he persists in order to punish her for not being content in her prescribed role. Finally the selfishness kicks in, as he spitefully states that no man should have he if he can’t continue the farce of a marriage. Even the judges seeth in anger while addressing him. Amrani brings fiery passion to his role as Vivian’s lone male supporter, who lives to bash away at the old stone walls of the court. Nearly every session ends with one of the rabbis yelling at him to “Wear your skullcap next time, Haim!”. The film also boasts great performances from those rabbi judges and great work from the actors playing sympathetic and hostile witnesses (love Viviane’s boisterous, bawdy sister). Elkabetz and her film making partner Shlomi keep the drama briskly paced and edit the film superbly in order to avoid much of the claustrophobia that might occur in the single court setting. But there are often times when it seems that those walls are closing in, mostly to crush Viviane’s spirit and soul, and the film almost catches fire with tensions and emotions of the characters. This may be a reflection of the producers’ intense passion to stir us into helping change a most unjust justice system. GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM is a compelling call to action that never puts its message ahead of its raw human story.

3.5 Out of 5

GETT: THE TRIAL OF VIVIANE AMSALEM opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas