Confronting. Intense. Excruciating. These three words describe one of the most remarkable, raw and minimalistic cinematic experiences. I am talking about a movie that deals with a divorce unlike any other you have seen. It is a courtroom drama with the look and feel of a play.
The plaintiff is Viviane Amsalem, long married to Elisha. Although they have lived apart from some time, he point blank refuses to end their marriage. He repeatedly fails to turn up in court and even when he does the Rabbinical Court in Israel can’t make a final ruling because something always derails proceedings. It is important to note that to this day civil weddings still do not exist in Israel. Religious law applies. When a woman says “yes” or “I do” under the nuptial canopy, she is immediately considered as potentially deprived of the right to divorce. Only the husband has the right to decide that. The court hears testimony of how honourable and respectful and chaste both Viviane and Elisha are. Witnesses for one side and then the second still speak kindly of the qualities of the other party.
And yet Viviane Amsalem is put through a living hell, as great an ordeal as anyone could bear, both in the court and in the years leading up to court. She is mentally tortured. Still, Elisha won’t relent, won’t cut her free, maintaining they were feted to be together. They married when she was just 15 and she has borne four children by him. He is deeply observant and she is not. He has shown her no appreciation. She has displayed the patience of Job.
All of the action takes place in and immediately outside the Rabbinical Court. Months drag into years, as we are witness to delay after delay, hearing after hearing. The courtroom is barren save for a few pieces of furniture. What are immediately noticeable are the stark white walls.
Telling are the intense close ups of Viviane Amsalem. In one scene in particular the camera stays on her face for more than a minute and she says nothing and yet it is riveting cinema. In fact, save for the occasional comment or outburst, she remains remarkably stoic throughout, while Elisha, too, is a man of few words. It is impossible though to see this film and not come out of it with a clear picture that the rules of the Rabbinical Court clearly favour the man in a union. Women, simply don’t have the same rights or privileges, and I found that exasperating. Of course, that is also what makes the movie so compelling. Just when you think nothing more could possibly happen to string out proceedings it does. So, it becomes a test of the audience’s patience and will as much as it does the protagonist and antagonist we see on screen.
Gett, The Trial of Viviane Amsalem is the third in a trilogy of films co-written and co-directed by Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz, with Ronit also playing the key role and doing so with distinction (she does silence as good as anyone). However, it stands alone. I hadn’t seen the first two, To Take a Wife and 7 Days, but I sure want to after sitting through this one. My wife became infuriated, frustrated and stressed. She wanted it to end an hour earlier. Take that to read that it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. I, on the other hand, consider it a gem, a masterpiece, undoubtedly one of the finest films I have seen this year, crafted to perfection.
I say stick with it and you will be rewarded. It stands as a unique and powerful offering and a bitter pill for religious equanimity. Rated PG, it scores an 8½ to 9 out of 10.
Director: Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz
Cast: Ronit Elkabetz and Simon Abkarian
Release Date: 16 July 2015 (limited)
Rated: M
Alex First
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television
