It’s no secret that “The Secrets” is one of the most provocative films to come out of Israel in recent years. Now this star of the 2008 San Francisco Jewish Film Festival and the 2007 Mill Valley Film Festival is getting a Bay Area theatrical release. It opens Jan. 16 at the Sundance Kabuki Cinema in San Francisco and the Camera 12 Cinemas in San Jose.

Not to be confused with the 2007 French film “A Secret” set in Nazi-occupied France, “The Secrets” tells the story of Naomi, a strong-willed Orthodox woman who convinces her father to send her to a yeshiva in Tzfat before she is married off to his prize pupil.

At the yeshiva, Naomi meets a number of interesting women, including the exotic Michelle, who becomes her partner in crime as they attempt to create a kabbalistic healing ritual for a dying French woman.

In a 2007 review for j., film critic Michael Fox wrote that “the ancient city of Tzfat (at least in the movies) is a mysterious catalyst that brings every character’s true nature and inner desires to the fore. The story goes places you likely won’t expect — and may not appreciate — and, unfortunately for Naomi, what happens in Tzfat does not stay in Tzfat. ‘The Secrets’ takes us into a world we rarely glimpse.”

For more information, see www.thes cretsmovie.com. For show times and ticket information, visit www.sundancecinemas.com and www.cameracinemas.com.