To Take a Wife

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Israel, France / 2004

The first film in the Viviane Amsalem trilogy, To Take a Wife, unfolds over three days inside the family apartment, where Viviane’s brothers gather in an attempt to reconcile her with her husband, Elisha.

Viviane is trapped in a cold, suffocating marriage, while Elisha exerts control through silence, emotional rigidity, and a stubborn refusal to change.

As the efforts at reconciliation continue, the film gradually exposes the intense familial and social pressure placed on Viviane to remain within the marriage at all costs.

The film offers an intimate, claustrophobic portrait of a woman seeking basic freedom within a rigid patriarchal system, laying the emotional and thematic foundations for the entire trilogy.

Directed by: Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz | 1h 37m