Verses of Love

Hanung Bramantyo's 2008 Indonesian film follows Fahri, a student of religion in Cairo. Several women around him are drawn to him; Fahri does not notice, and his marriage upsets all their calculations. The film places religious rules inside the narrative. Fahri makes his decisions according to his faith, and the narrative presents this not as a source of conflict but as consistency of character; the question of a second marriage became its most argued-over section. The novel it is adapted from had sold heavily in Indonesia, and the film became one of the most watched in the country's history. The narrative follows the melodrama form, with music and the Cairo scenes foregrounded. Who it's for: those who follow Indonesian popular cinema and romantic drama with religious themes. Who it's not for: viewers expecting polygamy to be questioned; the film presents it as an emotional resolution.