Ha-Me'ahev (The Lover) film, Israel 1986

Ha-Me'ahev (in international distribution as The Lover) is an Israeli film drama from 1985/1986 directed by prominent Israeli filmmaker Michal Bat-Adam. The film is an adaptation of the bestselling novel of the same name by writer A. B. Yehoshua from 1977. It is set against the backdrop of the Yom Kippur War (1973). It follows the fate of spouses Adam and Asia, whose relationship is going through a deep crisis. Adam attempts to save their marriage in an unconventional way – he finds a lover for his estranged wife, a young Argentine immigrant named Gabriel. However, Gabriel disappears without a trace during the war. Adam subsequently begins to obsessively search for him, which reveals a complex web of loneliness, forbidden desire, and complicated relationships between the characters (including a budding relationship between a Jewish girl and an Arab boy).