Trials come packaged with a lot of drama. They're the subject of many serializations and novels, and we come back to them again and again in fiction because they are a natural fit for suspense and stakes. The decision of the court can change the lives of those involved. The audience acts as a surrogate judge, listening to testimonies and weighing for themselves whether or not to side with the plaintiff or the defendant.
The interesting thing about most court dramas is that you are usually pre-disposed to be rooting for someone from the beginning, whether it be the good lawyer taking up a charity case for righteous reasons (as Atticus Finch does), or a defendant who has been wronged and is facing impossible odds. Most court dramas exist in and out of the courtroom, as we see lawyers prepare witnesses or deal with the struggles of their case going sour.
Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem opens in a courtroom, and never leaves. We are given no set-up as to who to root for, although we suppose it is Viviane (Ronit Elkabetz) we are to be sympathetic with since her name rests in the title. We learn that after 30 years of marriage, Viviane wants a divorce from her husband, Elisha (Simon Abkarian). Yet according to both of them, he has never beaten her, never cheated on her, and has always provided for her. So what possible reason could she have for leaving him?
The film is set in Israel, in current times, where civil marriage and civil divorce does not exist. Instead, rabbis hold the key to all unions, the beginning and the end. And for a divorce to be approved, both parties (the husband and wife) must consent. If either refuses, and the rabbis have no proof of the marriage being breached, then divorce cannot happen. And so in the opening scenes of Gett, Elisha refuses Viviane's request for a divorce.
What follows is a meticulous procedural that spans half a decade, as first Elisha refuses to appear in court, despite Viviane's continued attempts, and then various witnesses are brought in, most speaking highly of Elisha's character. Some call his stubbornness into question, but nothing significant enough to sway the rabbis who sit as judge.
The movie is mesmerizing from start to finish and moves at a quick pace. Months fly by, marked off by title cards informing the audience how long its been since the last hearing. They soon turn into jokes, as we continuously see title cards marking six months, three months, two months, or two weeks throughout the film. The absurdity of the situation is comical yet tragic, and the audience could not help but laugh at the insanity of the trial.
The film is directed by the brother-sister team of Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz, who also penned the script. Ronit Elkabetz takes on triple duty as the star of the film, playing Viviane. For the first half of the movie, she sits quietly, but by the second half, she is enraged by the long process and can't stand the humiliation any longer.
Slowly but surely we side with Viviane. We start out sympathetic because the movie has told us too, but we empathize with her as the trial pushes on and her commitment to the divorce stays resolute. She is treated as an object, continuously told to know her place when she tries to speak out, despite her husbands ability to speak unabated. Men still hold a terrifying amount of power over women in Israel, as in the end Viviane is faced with a demeaning choice that will win her the divorce.
The movie holds us prisoner, like Viviane, in the clinically white courtrooms. There is no life to them. We start the film as impartial judges, and end with a definitive opinion that the movie masterfully crafts. This sibling duo behind this film are a critical force to be reckoned with and I look forward to more films from them. This story is no doubt controversial in Israel, but it's a key wake-up call to the rest of us that oppression is still alive in this world.
