Fridae

Indonesia's biggest blockbuster in recent years is an epic romance that centres on a young Indonesian man named Fahri (charismatic Fedi Nurul) who goes to Egypt to study at the prestigious Al-Azhar University. Subsequently he meets four very different women who fall for his gentle demeanor and upstanding character.

Fahri chooses one of them to be his wife, but unusual circumstances compel him to take on a second one, which is permitted in Islam. The three live contentedly with this polygamous arrangement, presumably even after the credits roll.

The film's director Hanung Bramantyo says that he wanted Verses of Love to counter the Western media's negative portraits of Islam and their lack of understanding about the its practices. The movie certainly shows polygamy in a positive, sympathetic light � a sharp contrast to last year's more critical Indonesian film about polygamy, Love For Share (Berbagi Suami).

Verses of Love is well-executed and fairly entertaining, though truly on the long side. But you leave the cinema thinking that every race and culture should be entitled to their own ways of life and their own standards and values. To expect everyone to live according to Western-prescribed ethics is inherently unfair and hypocritical.