Swedish-Iranian filmmaker Nahid Persson's disturbing documentary Four Wives—One Man looks at contemporary marriage practices based on the Koran's sanctioning of polygamy, focusing here on a single extended family in a rural Iranian village. The patriarch Heda, a farmer with four wives and 20 children, is in the mood for a fifth wife, which is not sitting well with the first four spouses. The wives themselves are not particularly fond of one another, but they share in common complaints about their husband—particularly his propensity for physically abusing his wives and his sudden fixation on bringing home a young virgin as a bride. Complicating matters is Heda's elderly cantankerous mother, who appears to be running the roost, working the current wives against each other while simultaneously goading her son to continue procreating. In today's Iran, an estimated 14% of the population practice polygamy, but while it's unclear whether other polygamist unions are as raucous and troubled as the one presented here, Four Wives—One Man does capture some remarkably frank talk on how Heda's wives feel about the subject of polygamy (one of the women admits to having attempted suicide). A good choice for academic collections (contemporary Islamic and Iranian studies, as well as women's studies), this would also be of general interest. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)
Four Wives—One Man
(2007) 76 min. In Persian w/English subtitles. DVD or VHS: $89: public libraries; $295: colleges & universities. Women Make Movies. PPR. Volume 23, Issue 5
Four Wives—One Man
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: