The gripping courtroom drama "Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem" and the madcap, murder mystery "Wild Canaries" opened March 27 at UNL's Mary Riepma Ross Media Arts Center. Both films are unrated and play through April 2.
In "Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem," an Israeli woman (played by Ronit Elkabetz) seeks to finalize a divorce from her cruel and manipulative husband. However, in Israel, there is neither civil marriage nor civil divorce and only rabbis can legalize a marriage or its dissolution — and only with the husband's full consent.
Viviane has been applying for divorce for three years, but her husband (Simon Ebkarian) will not agree. Through the process, Viviane is effectively put on trial by her country's religious-based marriage law.
"Wild Canaries" is a twist on the detective movie genre — a mix of Nancy Drew running amok in present-day Brooklyn.
The husband and wife filmmaking team Sophia Takal and Lawrence Michael Levine star as Barri and Noah, a recently engaged and perpetually bickering couple. When their elderly neighbor dies, the flighty Barri immediately suspects foul play.
That idea cues a hilariously harebrained investigation as Barri — outfitted in a Columbo-style trench coat — enlists her secretly-in-love-with-her lesbian roommate (Alia Shawkat) to help get to the bottom of the matter.
For more information on movies at the Ross, visit https://theross.org/.