Sister Wife

Infobox Film
name = Sister Wife


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director = Timna Goldstein
producer = Hadar Kleinman
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released = 2000
runtime = 60 min.
country = Israel
language = English
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"Sister Wife" is a 2000 documentary that follows the Hebrew Israelites, an African American community that immigrated to Israel to live according to the Laws of the Torah and practicespolygamy. The men can have up to seven wives. The film follows a couple that's been married for 21 years as they decide to take on another wife.

ummary

Sister Wife offers an inside look at the Khazriel’s polygamous marriage over several years. Zipora and her husband Atur, like many of the people in their community, grew up in poverty in America’s ghettos. Atur struggled with a heroin habit at the age of thirteen and watched his best friend die on the way home from buying a slice of pizza. Tired of the crime, poverty, chaos, and death that were a fixed part of their lives in America, the Khazriels and others like them fled to Israel, named themselves the Yehudah tribe, and established peaceful lives for themselves that revolved around family and faith.

The documentary captures the goings-on in the Khazriel home without any sense of moral judgment, letting their complicated situation speak for itself. We learn how all three members feel about the big issues: the wedding day, the sleeping situation –- even the second wife’s first child. But equally as fascinating are the seemingly insignificant, intimate moments of marriage that become strained when three people are involved — like Atur riding in the backseat of a car with one wife sleeping on his shoulder and the other jealously stroking his thigh. He stares straight ahead, his look more that of a terrified deer caught-in-the-headlights than of an excited master-of-his-domain.

Sister Wife is a reminder that “normal” can have many different definitions. Zipora even sees her husband’s new marriage as an opportunity for her own self-improvement and progression. “I’m on a mission to perfect myself,” she says, explaining that this new experience will make her grow and develop into a better person.

It’s not until the wedding day that the look on Zipora’s face changes. Sitting in the front row in a white dress, watching her family and friends celebrate her husband’s enthusiasm for a young girl, she suddenly realizes what the rest of her life is going to feel like.

Filmmakers

Timna Goldstein was born in London, but later moved to Israel when she was two years old. Then she moved the U.S. in 1980, where she spent a few years of her life in Chicago. She pursued acting at Yoram Levinstein's School of Acting and studied TV and Film at Tel-Aviv University. She has worked on various productions in Israel as well as abroad. "Sister-Wife" is her first documentary film.

Hadar Kleinman was born in Ramat-Gan, Israel. She came to the U.S. in 1983, where she briefly resided in Los Angeles, California for about a year. "Sister-Wife" is also her first documentary film.

References

*cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
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title =Sister Wife
work =
publisher =United Nations Association Film Festival
date = 2001
url =http://www.unaff.org/2001/f-sister.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 4 August

*cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title =Sister Wife
work =
publisher =The Jewish Channel
date = 2008
url =http://www.tjctv.com/movies/sister-wife/
format =
doi =
accessdate = 4 August

ee also

Other controversial documentaries about Israeli society:
*"Women for Sale"
*"Say Amen"
*"The Land of the Settlers"
*"Film Fanatic"

External links

* [http://www.tjctv.com/movies/sister-wife/ The Jewish Channel's review]
* [http://www.7thart.com/joomla/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=153 Distributor's website]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb1437/is_200206/ai_n5922816 review from "Variety"]