A Thousand and One Wives

A Thousand and One Wives (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.

Synopsis
In the Bukharim quarter, Jerusalem, during the 1920s, merchant Naftali Siman-Tov (Yossi Pollak) 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 (Jonathan Cherchi), and Naftali, unable to bear the shame, becomes violent toward his young wife.

Reception
Writing in Haaretz, critic Uri Klein opined that Rita Jahanforuz "adds to this film a significant amount of humanity and humor, and, she has a natural filmic presence," while Yedioth Ahronoth critic Nachman Ingber 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," Davar critic Oshra Schwartz 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," and Al HaMishmar critic Yael Israel 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."