I like Black Panther, but I didn't like this movie.

Am I Missing Something?

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

A very hard to watch film with absolutely no cinematic enjoyment experience. Discomfort built to anger then lead to rage and finally exasperation. All to be endured throughout the length of the film, from the first to the last second. The questions and answers are silly and trivial. They are more to demonstrate position of power or details for juicy gossiping than the actual intentions of getting to the bottom of the issue. The topic at hand is important and the whole movie could be much more powerful only if it had a better scriptwriter with better lines/script to help in shinning its subject matter. Or maybe, that is intentional because it's a true reflection of these real life dramas.The "Gett" practice is abhorrently barbaric with disgustingly unjust outcomes. Things to take away from this movie: 1. Living in Israel as woman, it's best to not get entangled into a marriage. 2. Israel is without civil marriage laws and in this aspect it is not a civilized society as we tend to think, especially when it comes to women's rights or just basic human rights. 3. In this day and age, Jewish women are still living with injustice and maltreatment, under a male controlled society, as much as they did in ancient time or as in backward third world countries. 4. The ridiculousness of religion and religious leaders' perspective/understanding on the matters of male and female relationships. 5. The obtuse mentality of these Jewish rabbis and their fanatical followers. 6. The cruelty of men when love is the excuse with religious rules and social customs are the treatments using for their own selfishness and their lack of empathy. By now, we all should see the importance of separation between religion and state, religious leaders and state affairs, religious rules and civil laws.

Excellent movie. It is really a play, with a play's limited sets, but with the movie camera's freedom to somehow annotate the lines with sub-textual commentary. The camera, is, however, never, intrusive, and remains mostly neutral (if that is even possible). The immense frustration of this absurd ritual for divorce transfers to the viewer. The 'wife", seeking the divorce, remains almost silent, save for several curt responses to the self-important rabbis ruling over the case. The underlay here is Middle East culture, fundamentalism in my book, trundling it's (formerly: its) tyranny down thru these ages, and it makes you wonder how sane peep still adhere, so desperately it seems, to this primitive and obsolete madness.

Greetings again from the darkness. Personal views on Politics and Religion are purposefully avoided in my film reviews as I prefer to view the work from the perspective of art and storytelling. Sometimes, however, a film exposes such an injustice that stifling one's opinions is just not practical. Such is the case with this latest from the brother-sister co-directing and co-writing team of Shlomi and Ronit Elkabetz.This is the final piece to the creative siblings' trilogy on Israeli marriage that began with To Take a Wife (2004), and was followed by 7 Days (2008). That's right, the two characters of husband Elisha (Simon Ebkarian) and wife Viviane (played by director Ronit Elkabetz who was also in the excellent 2007 film The Band's Visit) have been followed through the stages of marriage, separation, and now divorce court. Only their divorce court is not what most of the world thinks of when we hear that term. In Israel, divorce is not a civil matter, but rather falls under Jewish law and the proceedings are overseen by a triumvirate of rabbinical judges. If that's not difficult enough to stomach … it's the husband who holds ALL the power. The husband must agree to grant his wife the divorce. Without his permission, the judges can do nothing and the wife is bound to the marriage.With the story unfolding almost exclusively in the bleak courtroom, Viviane trudges through delays, no-shows, desperate negotiations, and other time-wasters; only occasionally succumbing to an outburst, rather than her usual quiet dignity. Elisha maintains a seemingly proud and determined look when he does show for hearings, only periodically shooting a look of disgust at his wife. His confidence stems from the power in knowing that grounds for divorce do not include irreconcilable differences. The camera work puts us right in the courtroom and we soon recognize Elisha's mannerisms as not just passive-aggressive, but also manipulative and misguided. He is not an awful man, but this is an awful marriage.Long a fan of courtroom dramas, I was mesmerized by the dumbfounding process as well as the stellar performances, excellent script and POV camera work. Ms Elkabetz is terrific as Viviane, and her work is complimented by Mr Ebkarian as her husband, Sasson Gabay as his brother and advocate, and Menashe Noy as her advocate and admirer. The film is a strange blend of hypnotic and infuriating and heart-breaking. It's uncomfortable to watch, but one we can't turn away from … especially as Viviane shouts "You don't see me!" to the judges.

Israeli actress, screenwriter and director Ronit Elkabetz and Israeli screenwriter and director Shlomi Elkabetz's feature film which they wrote, is inspired by the life of their mother and the third part of a trilogy which was preceded by "To Take a Wife" (2004) and "7 Days" (2008). It premiered in the 46th Directors' Fortnight section at the 67th Cannes International Film Festival in 2014, was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival in 2014, was shot on locations in Israel and is an Israel-France co-production which was produced by producers Sandrine Bauer, Marie Masmonteil and Shlomi Elkabetz. It tells the story about an Israeli wife, experienced hairdresser and mother of four named Viviane whom has been living with her sister, her brother named Emil Amzaleg and his wife named Rachel since she left her husband of many years named Elisha Amsalem whom she got engaged with as a fifteen-year-old. Distinctly and precisely directed by Israeli filmmakers Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz, this finely paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the protagonist's point of view, draws an immediately involving, thought-provoking and unprejudiced portrayal of an Israeli citizen constrained within the confines of a marriage she walked out of three years ago and no longer wishes to be restricted to, and her prolonged hearing before a rabbinical court called Beth din which is the only institution in Israel which can grant her a divorce, with the assistance of a renowned attorney named Carmel Ben Tovim. While notable for its interior milieu depictions, reverent cinematography by cinematographer Jeanne Lapoirie, production design by production designer Ehud Gutterman and costume design by costume designer Li Alembic, this dialog-driven and narrative-driven story about divorce laws in a country and republic of ingrained traditions which, as long as both parts have honored the agreement, makes the person requesting to end the pact plead for the other person's consent which he or she is not obliged to give, and a judicial system which practices laws that makes it possible for people to become chained and dictates their dignity and personal choices which are not influenced but veraciously autonomous, depicts a dense study of character and contains a great and timely score by composers Dikla and Shaul Besser. This thematically concise, ironically humorous and compromising narrative feature which is set in Israel in the 21st century and where a Jewish father and mother becomes defendant and plaintiff, he keeps on ignoring her wish for separation, she keeps on fighting against a power their matrimony has given him and the judge of their trial clarifies that he can't force her to return home to him and she can't force him to grant her an annulment, is impelled and reinforced by its cogent narrative structure, subtle character development, rhythmic continuity, cinematographic precision, dynamic interplay, emasculating for both and scrutinizing interrogations, scene where the main character's sister-in-law takes the stand, comment by the judge: "Know your place woman!" and answer by Viviane: "I know my place. Your Honor." the diversely personified acting performance by Israeli actress Ronit Elkabetz and the reverently understated acting performance by French actor Simon Abkarian. A majestically theatrical, concentrated and heartfelt character piece.