Israeli film ‘Gett’ gets US distribution

An Israeli film about an Orthodox woman struggling to earn the right to divorce her husband will soon hit American screens.

“Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem,” from brother-and-sister duo Shlomi and Ronit Elkabetz, opened at the director’s fortnight section of the Cannes Film Festival this month to glowing reviews and now will be distributed in the U.S. thanks to a deal with Music Box Films.

“Gett” is the third installment in a trilogy from the Elkabetz siblings, who are beloved in Israel – Ronit for her acting chops and Shlomi for his writing and directing. The first film in the series, “To Take a Wife,” shows the initial breakdown of the marriage between Viviane (played by Ronit Elkabetz) and her husband Elisha (Simon Abkarian). The second, “The Seven Days,” shows Viviane already separated from her husband but marooned without legal freedom and still under his control.

“Gett,” which takes place entirely inside a rabbinical courtroom as Viviane struggles for five years to finally free herself from her husband, rounds out the series, and both the performances of its leads actors as well as its terse, drawn-out script received heaps of praise from international critics at Cannes.