A Thousand and One Wives
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox film
| name = A Thousand and One Wives
| native_name = אלף נשותיו של נפתלי סימן טוב
| image = 1001 wives poster.jpg
| caption = DVD cover
| director = Michal Bat-Adam
| writer = Michal Bat-Adam
| based_on = {{based on|״אלף נשותיו של נפתלי סימן טוב״|{{ill|Dan Benaya-Serri|he|דן בניה סרי}}}}
| producer = Effi Atad
| music = {{ill|Alon Oleartchik|he|אלון אולארצ'יק}}
| starring = {{Flat list|
- {{ill|Yossi Pollak|he|יוסי פולק}}
- Rita Jahanforuz
- {{ill|Nissim Azikri|he|ניסים עזיקרי}}
- Salim Daw
- {{ill|Jonathan Cherchi|he|יונתן צ'רצ'י}}
- Levana Finkelstein
- Navah Ziv
- {{ill|Etti Grottes|he|אתי גרוטס}}
- {{ill|Rivka Bahar|he|רבקה בכר}}
- Geula Nuni
- Varda Ben Hur
- {{ill|Tikva Aziz|he|תקווה עזיז}}
- Amira Polan
- Shia Melamed
- {{ill|David Baruch|he|דוד ברוך}}
- Ishai Meshulam
- Tzipora Tzabari
- Ada Tzabach
}}
| cinematography = Yoav Kosh
| editing = Yosef Grunfeld
| studio = {{Flat list|
- {{ill|Israel Film Fund|he|קרן הקולנוע הישראלי}}
- Shani Films
}}
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1989|||Israel}}
| runtime = 90 Minutes
| country = Israel
| language = Hebrew
}}
A Thousand and One Wives ({{langx|he|אלף נשותיו של נפתלי סימן טוב}}, tr. Elef Neshotav Shel Naftali Siman-Tov, literally "Naftali Siman-Tov's Thousand Wives") is a 1989 Israeli independent underground dramatic-historical art film written and directed by Michal Bat-Adam.{{cite web|url=http://www.ictd.co.il/%D7%9E%D7%99%D7%9B%D7%9C-%D7%91%D7%AA-%D7%90%D7%93%D7%9D/%D7%90%D7%99%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%95%D7%AA|script-title=he:מיכל בת־אדם|last=Sason|first=Yasmin|last2=Parkhomovsky|first2=Marat|date=20 December 2010|website={{ill|Israeli Cinema Testimonial Database|he|מאגר העדויות של הקולנוע הישראלי}}|language=Hebrew|access-date=31 March 2017}}
Synopsis
In the Bukharim quarter, Jerusalem, during the 1920s, merchant Naftali Siman-Tov ({{ill|Yossi Pollak|he|יוסי פולק}}) is a wealthy middle-aged widower, all of whose previous wives have died under mysterious circumstances. He fears getting married again due to believing that he is cursed. A local matchmaker, Arotchas (Salim Daw), with the help of some old ladies, pressures him to get married again nonetheless, and, eventually, he marries Flora (Rita Jahanforuz), a naïve 24-year-old virgin. However, in order not to bestow his alleged curse upon her, he avoids all physical touch. Flora gets pregnant as a result of intimate relations with a local textile salesman, Hamedian ({{ill|Jonathan Cherchi|he|יונתן צ'רצ'י}}), and Naftali, unable to bear the shame, becomes violent toward his young wife.{{cite news|last=Israel|first=Yael|date=5 May 1989|script-title=he:הולכת אחרי חושיה|trans-title=Going After Her Senses|url=http://idea.cinema.co.il/ideawebinter/multimedia_11/0160/01600576.pdf|language=Hebrew|work=Al HaMishmar|location=Tel Aviv|access-date=22 March 2017}}{{cite news|last=Shuv|first=Yael|date=5 May 1989|script-title=he:אומרים לי לשחק קטן|trans-title=I Was Told to Play Small Roles|url=http://idea.cinema.co.il/ideawebinter/multimedia_11/0160/01600585.pdf|language=Hebrew|work=Davar|location=Tel Aviv|access-date=22 March 2017}}
Reception
Writing in Haaretz, critic {{ill|Uri Klein|he|אורי קליין}} opined that Rita Jahanforuz "adds to this film a significant amount of humanity and humor, and, she has a natural filmic presence,"{{cite news|last=Klein|first=Uri|date=11 May 1989|script-title=he:הפוטנציאל של ריטה|trans-title=Rita's Potential|url=http://idea.cinema.co.il/ideawebinter/multimedia_11/0160/01600603.pdf|language=Hebrew|work=Haaretz|location=Tel Aviv|access-date=22 March 2017}} while Yedioth Ahronoth critic {{ill|Nachman Ingber|he|נחמן אינגבר}} wrote that the film presents "a cornucopia of beautiful colors, [showing] a Jerusalem of towels, handsome tools, and, scarfs, really a wonderful parade of lots of tradition, customs, and, folklore, representing all Twelve Tribes of Israel, as if it were a beautiful exhibition by Maskit, with a well-spoken text,"{{cite news|last=Ingber|first=Nachman|date=12 May 1989|script-title=he:אלף בעיותיה של בת־אדם|trans-title=Bat-Adam's Thousand Problems|url=http://idea.cinema.co.il/ideawebinter/multimedia_11/0160/01600601.pdf|language=Hebrew|work=Yedioth Ahronoth|location=Tel Aviv|access-date=22 March 2017}} Davar critic {{ill|Oshra Schwartz|he|אושרה שוורץ}} noted that the film's main achievement is its treatment of color and light, namely, that the cinematography "creates an almost perfect match between the view that can be seen through the vast Jerusalemite windows (in which the characters walk) and the large rooms within the old tastefully and colorfully decorated stone-made houses,"{{cite news|last=Schwartz|first=Oshra|date=14 May 1989|script-title=he:על החלטות נכונות ושגויות|trans-title=On Correct and Incorrect Decisions|url=http://idea.cinema.co.il/ideawebinter/multimedia_11/0160/01600607.pdf|language=Hebrew|work=Davar|location=Tel Aviv|access-date=22 March 2017}} and Al HaMishmar critic {{ill|Yael Israel|he|יעל ישראל}} underscored that the film is Michal Bat-Adam's "best and most wholesome film" to date, due to its "reliable and reserved cinematic language creating a correct historical environment and utilizing glowing and careful acting."{{cite news|last=Israel|first=Yael|date=19 June 1989|script-title=he:סיפור פשוט|trans-title=A Simple Story|url=http://idea.cinema.co.il/ideawebinter/multimedia_11/0160/01600598.pdf|language=Hebrew|work=Al HaMishmar|location=Tel Aviv|access-date=22 March 2017}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://jfc.org.il/movie/45853-2/ "A Thousand and One Wives" - The full film is available on VOD] on [https://jfc.org.il/ the website for the Israel Film Archive - Jerusalem Cinematheque]
- {{IMDb title|id=tt0097269|title=A Thousand and One Wives}}
- [https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/507166/elef-neshotav-shel-naftali-simantov A Thousand and One Wives] at the TCM Movie Database
{{Films directed by Michal Bat-Adam|state=expanded}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thousand and One Wives, A}}
Category:1980s Hebrew-language films
Category:1980s historical drama films
Category:1980s pregnancy films
Category:1989 independent films
Category:Israeli historical drama films
Category:Israeli independent films
Category:Israeli pregnancy films
Category:Films based on short fiction
Category:Films directed by Michal Bat-Adam
Category:Films about businesspeople
Category:Films about widowhood
Category:Films set in the 1920s