Since her arranged marriage to the broker Michael, Christina (Lena Fraifeld), a Ukrainian woman, has been living in Israel the past few years. The couple have convinced her younger sister Valeria (Dasha Tvoronovich) to a similar arrangement demonstrating their comfortable lifestyle and their solid relationship. Until their first meeting, Valeria and her soon-to-be fiancé, the eager Eitan, have only spoken online. Then, when she travels to meet him , things turn out differently than expected.
Set over the course of one day, the film focuses on the unplanned consequences for everyone involved after Valeria starts being overwhelmed by the situation and hesitates. Eitan is ashamed of being rejected by someone from whom he expected gratitude, and his family is angry and argumentative, Michael is frustrated as he may have to return the considerable sum he earned from the introduction. Suddenly, Christina is responsible for her sister's behaviour, which reveals her precarious position as a recent immigrant and an equal in her own marriage.
The film was shot before Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February, so the war does not play a role in the story. Instead, the focus is on broader issues such as gender inequality and economic inequality in relationships, as well as the specific problem of marriages arranged online.
Writer-director Michal Vinik creates a poignant story about the component that creates hierarchy or imbalance in most relationships. She, as in previous works, proves herself one of cinema’s sharpest observers of gender, inequality and politics. Both entertaining and informative, Valeria Is Getting Married deconstructs widely spread prejudices and preconceptions about Ukrainian women, which have become much more visible now as so many women are fleeing the war.
"My interest mostly has to do with how these [arranged] relationships serve as a mirror for all committed relationships between any two people, whether married or not. The arrangement between a Ukrainian bride and an Israeli groom may fall on the extreme end of the relationship scale, but at the core of many relationships, there is a component that creates a hierarchy or imbalance."
– Michal Vinik
Born in Haifa (Israel), 1976, Michal Vinik graduated from the Film and Television Department at Tel-Aviv University as a scriptwriter and director in the MFA program. She has written scripts for several television series and co-created her own (Who Gave you a License, together with Daniella Doron and Talya Lavie).
Without slipping into the melodramatic, Valeria Is Getting Married is carried by strong performances and an intelligent and sensitive script that dispels stereotypes and acknowledges the difficult choices that have brought the sisters here.
Definitely a big recommendation – especially because of Vinik's entertaining and accesible way to address this important subject.