Music Box Films Home Entertainment has announced the Blu-ray release of filmmakers Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz's Gett: The Trail of Viviane Amsalem. The heartrending portrait of an Israeli woman put on trial by her country's marriage laws stars Ronit Elkabetz, Simon Abkarian, Menashe Noy, Sasson Gabay, EliGorstein, Gabi Amrani, Rami Danon and Roberto Pollack, and streets on June 9th.
Synopsis: In Israel, there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce and only Orthodox rabbis can legalize a union or its dissolution, which is only possible with the husband's full consent. In this world, Viviane Amsalem (Ronit Elkabetz) has been trapped in a loveless marriage and applying for a divorce (or gett) for three years, but her religiously devout husband Elisha (Simon Abkarian) continually refuses. Viviane's determination to fight for her freedom clashes with the ambiguous role of the rabbinical judges in the courtroom, shaping a procedure where tragedy vies with absurdity. On this stage, all is ultimately brought into the open for judgment.
"When a woman says 'yes' under the nuptial canopy [in Israel], she is immediately considered as potentially 'deprived of gett.' The Law gives this outrageous power to the husband," say filmmakers Ronit and Shlomi Elkabetz."All the facts and character traits we used to tell our story are plausible. Viviane is as much inspired by elements of women's lives from our entourage as well as by our mother, who never stepped into a rabbinical court, and never expressed the desire for divorce, even though she may have thought about it."
The 2014 winner of the Israeli Film Academy's Ophir Award for Best Picture, Gett: The Trail of Viviane Amsalem was Israel's Official Foreign Language Submission for the 2015 Academy Awards and was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2015 Golden Globe Awards.
An undisputed smash hit on the festival circuit, the film also won three awards at the 2014 Jerusalem Film Festival, including the Haggiag Award for Best Israeli Film, the Audience Favorite Award, and the Best Actor prize (Menashe Noy). An official selection at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, Gett: The Trail of Viviane Amsalem picked up the Golden Starfish Awards for Best Narrative Feature at the 2014 Hamptons International Film Festival and the Silver Hugo for Best Screenplay at the 2014 Chicago International Film Festival.
Expertly written and beautifully acted, it brilliantly captures an astonishing and controversial tradition steeped in a history that demands the Jewish household be preserved, even if it means putting religious duty above personal happiness. Special features include:
Making Of Featurette
Shlomi Elkabetz interview
Collector's Booklet including essay by Anthony Kaufman