To Take a Wife

To Take a Wife
Promotional poster
Directed byRonit Elkabetz
Shlomi Elkabetz
Written byRonit Elkabetz
Shlomi Elkabetz
Produced byEric Cohen
Jean-Philippe Reza
Marek Rozenbaum
Itai Tamir
StarringRonit Elkabetz
Simon Abkarian
Gilbert Melki
Sulika Kadosh
Dalia Beger
Kobi Regev
Omer Moshkovitz
Yam Eitan
Valérie Zarrouk
Carl Zrihen
CinematographyYaron Scharf
Edited byJoel Alexis
Music byMichel Korb
Distributed bySophie Dulac Distribution
Release dates
  • September 2004 (2004-09) (Venice Film Festival)
  • 26 January 2005 (2005-01-26) (France)
Running time
99 minutes
CountriesIsrael
France
LanguagesFrench
Hebrew
Moroccan Arabic

To Take a Wife (VeLakahta Lekha Isha; French: Prendre femme) is a 2004 drama film. It is the directorial debut of veteran actress Ronit Elkabetz, who also stars in the film and was nominated for an Ophir Award for her performance. The film, a joint Israeli-French production, marks the debut of both directors, who were siblings, and serves as a kind of shared autobiography.

It premiered at the 61st Venice International Film Festival in September 2004 and screened in numerous countries, receiving widespread international acclaim.

The film is the first in a trilogy about the unhappy marriage of Viviane. It was followed by Shiva in 2008, and Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem in 2014.