Brief movie reviews
For Friday, June 2 through Thursday, June 8

Our rating system uses zero to four stars. If a movie has no rating, it has not been reviewed by Laura Boyes (LB), Godfrey Cheshire (GC), David Fellerath (DF) or Neil Morris (NM).

 **** FANAA (DESTROYED BY LOVE)-- Rehan (Aamir Khan) is a too charming Delhi tour guide who woos Zooni (Kajol) a sheltered blind woman determined to experience life. His secret Kashmiri terrorist mission inevitably undermines their happiness. An intense romance played out against an edgy political background, Fanaa's power resides in the superb lead pair whose shifting desires and loyalties flow across their expressive faces. Set in a Muslim milieu, with a jihadist played by one of Bollywood's biggest stars (himself a Muslim) good and evil, by Hollywood standards, are in flux. Kajol's radiant performance marks a return to the screen after 5 years off at the peak of her career to have a baby, and her pairing with the peerless Aamir Khan creates high voltage. Director Kunal Kohili's tightly scripted film uses music effectively, and the icy winter scenes (shot in Poland due to the impossibility of filming in unstable Kashmir) briefly go a little James Bond-y to good effect. How should relationships resolve, and what exactly, constitutes a happy ending? Fanaa is no facile thriller, and 3 riveting hours of passion and sacrifice boils down to a layered and appropriately conflicted conclusion. --LB