Salmon Fishing in the Yemen

A British fisheries expert is presented with a offer from a Yemenese sheikh to bring the sport of fly fishing to the Sahara in this charming, likable drama from Lasse Hallstrom. It features beautiful cinematography, even for those who don't particularly care about such things, and winning performances by Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, at its heart, is not a movie about fish at all; it is about different kinds of faith and the degree to which people place their trust in them. Alfred Jones (McGregor) is an expert in all things ichthyic and works for the UK's version of the Department of the Interior. He is approached by the representative of a idealistic sheikh who loves to fish. The sheikh has it in his head that bringing the art of fly fishing for salmon to the Yemen River would be beneficial to his people (the river is dried up in places and is, obviously, in the middle of a desert). It is not a popular idea, and Jones, before and after taking a perfunctory meeting with Harriet, dismisses it as ludicrous, unsound, and downright absurd. (Dr. Jones is a bit of a straight arrow, you see.) And it would seem that would be the end of it, except that the Prime Minister's press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas) sees this as an opportunity to foster Arab-Anglo relations at a time when, well, they're not so good. Long story short – Jones has to make the project work. There are many obstacles to overcome. The water must be the right temperature and with the right amount of oxygen. Fish have to be found, somewhere, and imported. Negotiations must be had with local tribes who feel that bringing water to the desert is an abomination of some sort. And meanwhile, pressure mounts and mounts for Jones to pull it all off, since the sheikh is paying handsomely to the British government. Alfred – Fred – and Harriet each have home lives that are in their own unique turmoil. Fred has been married for several years with no children, and it's clear that the love he and his wife once shared in full has dwindled considerably; she suddenly takes a job in Geneva, promising to visit him every so often. As for Harriet, the first man she has fallen for is suddenly deployed to Afghanistan. Each takes solace in their Yemen project. What works best in this movie is the chemistry between Blunt and McGregor; the former plays an optimist ready for new challenges, and the latter is more of a stick-in-the-mud with little sense of humor. Okay, you who are reading this know that this is a plain setup, as this is not just a drama: it a romantic drama. Luckily for all of us, the movie doesn't descend into double entendres, sideward glances, awkward silences, and the like. Blunt and McGregor manage to avoid making the romance too light, too believable; we shouldn't be able to easily guess precisely how things will wind up, and we can't. Theirs is a working relationship that neither acknowledges as being anything but, and each is torn between their subconscious feelings for each other and for their respective significant others. At one point, the sheikh asks Jones if he is a man of faith, and the expert replies that he is not. The sheikh rightly points out, however, that fishing itself relies on faith – the hope that something will occur, however improbable. A man puts a lure into the water. The outcome is not predetermined; he will most likely reel it in untouched. But he has faith that a fish will nibble at it and take the bait. The sheikh feels the same way about his fishing project. He has faith that doing so will enable the poor communities surrounding the river to thrive. In the end, this is a quiet, elegant movie about love and hope, both of fishing and humanity. Excellent performances by the leads and able direction by Hallstrom make this a sort of soft-edged drama with romance and a bit of action.

The first part of the movie is quite dull; stock British characters say unfunny lines while discussing an absurd project, the creation of a river and salmon preserve in Yemen. Kristin Scott Thomas overacts, Emily Blunt's talent is wasted and only Ewan MacGregor (surprisingly) comes off as believable. The film picks up a bit with the introduction of an Arab sheik character, played by Amr Waked. Amazingly, despite being forced to mouth stock Arab sheik lines, he manages to radiate charisma that is momentarily appealing. The film then moves to Yemen (actually Morocco) where it has trouble figuring out what it is trying to say. The main British characters and the sheik are portrayed as idealists when in actuality they are grandiose, arrogant and ignorant. At almost the last minute the MacGregor character makes a brief, sort of politically correct speech that seems to admit some error but it's too late; the movie has already offended. Westerners and the Arab elite have been portrayed as far superior to the ignorant masses, despite the fact the country belongs to these masses...and let's not forget the fate visited on the poor fish in this story, which by the way was not believable. I read somewhere that the book was a satire; sadly, this movie is a failed rom-com.

The interesting thing about 'Salmon Fishing in Yemen' is that the title represents the film's sub-plot and not the main plot. A wealthy Yemeni Sheikh, Muhammed, seeks to introduce salmon fishing to Yemen. His handler in Great Britain, Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt), can't convince Alfred "Fred" Jones (Ewan McGregor), a government fisheries expert, to support the project since he believes that Yemen doesn't have the necessary cold temperatures and water to sustain salmon. But when the Prime Minister's cynical press secretary, Patricia Maxwell (Kristen Scott Thomas), needs a feel-good story to counter all the bad news coming out of Afghanistan, suddenly Fred is forced to make nice to Harriet and actually attempt to make the project work. 'Fishing in Yemen' works well when it concentrates on all the machinations involving the push to make the Sheikh's project succeed. Various obstacles crop up, including the fishing industry's objection to depleting UK's stock of fresh water salmon. In Fred's estimation, farm raised salmon still can be utilized, and he predicts that those kind of salmon will also swim upstream. There are also local obstacles to the Sheikh's project in Yemen itself. In a rather unlikely scene, Fred's thwarts the assassination of the Sheikh by a bumbling militant, through the intervention of his fishing reel. But the bulk of 'Fishing' has to do with a love triangle between Fred, Harriet and Harriet's new boyfriend, Robert, who is suddenly missing in action during a secret military mission in Afghanistan. Rather predictably, Fred is on the outs with his workaholic wife, Mary, which opens up the possibility that he can start things up with Harriet. Before you know it, Robert is no longer missing, and Harriet must choose between the two men at film's end. Instead of directly murdering the Sheikh and his friendly UK supporters, the local militants end up destroying his project by letting a dam open, flooding the whole area. Fair enough. But what about the resolution of the love triangle? Well, it's utterly predictable and sentimental--at the last moment, guess who Harriet chooses? And after the whole project is wiped out, the two lovebirds decide to remain in order to reignite the ruined experiment, ignoring the fact that they might be eventually murdered by the same militants who attempted to wipe the Sheikh out earlier as well as destroying his dream. Time Out's David Fear couldn't have said it better when he describes the Sheikh as an "Arabic version of the Magical Negro'. The Sheikh reminds one more of an expert motivational speaker at a New Age Enlightenment convention, than a real Middle Eastern potentate from that part of the world. Amr Waked is fine in that role as are the other principals, Blunt, McGregor and Thomas. I'm told that the original book the film was based on was much more satirical than the rom-com we find here. Salmon Fishing is mildly entertaining, but eventually devolves into some real gooey, sentimental stuff. One viewing really is enough.

"Salmon Fishing in the Yemen" is a charming, quirky, very British film that, despite its flaws (notably, a number of plot implausibilities), is an enjoyable watch. A somewhat eccentric sheikh has the idea of exporting the concept of salmon fishing from his estate in Scotland to the desert areas of the Yemen. Leading UK fishing scientist Dr Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) is recruited by rapacious British government PR specialist Bridget Maxwell (brilliantly played by Kristin Scott Thomas) to take charge of the project. Dr Jones becomes romantically attracted to the sheikh's PA (Emily Blunt), who is also involved in the scheme. The amiable nature of the film, coupled with its gentle satire, give it the air of some of those Ealing comedies of the 1950s, such as "Passport to Pimlico" and "The Lavender Hill Mob". It is beautifully shot - there are some stunning scenes of the very picturesque Scottish countryside and landscape - and is extremely well acted by the entire cast, in particular the three leading actors. The script is also often very witty. Some of the detail of the plot does not stand up to close scrutiny. Dr Jones saves the life of the sheikh in a ridiculously unbelievable manner. And it beggars belief that the one person who unexpectedly emerges alive and unscathed from an otherwise fatally unsuccessful military exercise overseas is Captain Robert Mayers, the partner of Harriet (the sheikh's PA). His appearance throws a spanner in the works of the burgeoning closeness between Harriet and Dr Jones. There are other far-fetched plot contrivances of this sort. But, somehow the film survives these difficulties to provide almost two hours of undemanding entertainment that is ideal family viewing. 7/10.

This is one of those scary experiences where you find your self in a cinema with other humans who seem to be finding the proceedings in some way funny but you are hating every min of it and looking for a way out of the torture. Salmon Fishing in the Yemen is another 'feel good' dumb British movie that appeals to those who subscribe to a middle upper class idealism that has little grounding in reality. As far as I am aware the Yemen is a poor country and does have very serious issues with its supply of water...Salmon fishing there seems a tad unfair. Sorry this one goes in the bin along with 'about a boy' 'Bridget Jones diary' 'Four Weddings and a Funeral' I think Ill just nip to the bar.

There's a line in the movie that goes, "We need a good story about the Middle East that doesn't have explosions." This is it! Hilarious and touching, Ewan, Emily, and Amr are fantastic. Ewan plays this homely, heads-down British government biologist to a T. Amr is a promising newcomer. And Emily is always amazing. I saw this at the opening in Toronto and the audience loved it. No wonder it was the first one sold at the festival. A big of an underdog, a lot of other people thought it was the best they saw too. Maybe they should change the name to something catchier. That's my only suggestion. I hope this changes how people view the middle east, even in a small way.

The point of this film remains unclear to me. You have a sheik who wants to implant salmon in his homeland so that he can fish, you have a political element that seems nothing more than cliché'd rhetoric, and surprise, a love story. I could never tell if there were intentional metaphors, if the writers were trying to convey some covert political statement or jabs at the prime minister. Perhaps the salmon themselves were the metaphor of their long migrations and swimming upstream against the current. I don't know, this made no sense to me. Of course it just so happens that the two people working on the "salmon" project are a man and women, each with mate woes. He is the typical boring conservative Brit, she the adventurous jaded alpha type. The film has little dynamic and shifts between something that reveals serious drama and soap opera. The glaring thing to me was the lack of chemistry between Blunt and McGregor, two actors I genuinely like. When we 1st hear of his love for her I was taken for surprise as I noticed no mutual interest expressed in either dialog or body language. Up until that point I had no idea that there was even a romance element in the film. This is where the film focuses on their romantic feelings but it never comes across. A lackluster film, full of cliché and happy endings.

Really wanted to like this, and the first 15 minutes were engaging. I thought it was going to be a dumb, albeit sweet, romantic British comedy. But as soon as the Sheik shows up, it really gets bad. Stereotypical portrayals, over-the-top dialog ("All of my wives tell me that..."), and super simplification of Yemen (geographically, politically, culturally). It's the kind of ridiculous plot that British comedies of the 1950s might follow, but not for an age in which the super rich (especially pious polygamists) are destroying this world (financially and environmentally) with their wealth and power. Aside from my obvious political and cultural problems with this film, the relationship between the McGregor and Blunt characters was also not credible. Considering the presumed target audience (educated, progressive), it was really wide of the mark.

Been looking forward to this film for some time, having previously much enjoyed some other Lasse Hallstrom movies (especially 'My Life as a Dog', 'The Shipping News','The Ciderhouse Rules', even 'Casanova'). I certainly didn't expect anything profound, challenging or deeply engaging, but I was hoping for a good comedy, perhaps sharp and warm at the same time. But this was just an utter disappointment - or perhaps I am just getting fed-up with movie-making 'by numbers'. This film is not offensive, but it really doesn't do anything other than 'kill time'. The story is utterly predictable, the acting is wooden and emotionally totally unconvincing, the soundtrack is tired, the cinematography uninspired. It seems like everyone involved in this bit of feel-good fluff was just plain bored - so, by and large, the result, unfortunately, is just plain boring, too. One cannot help but wonder why they even bothered making this film, I could venture a guess, but, then, I don't want to be cynical... There is one exception: Kristin Scott-Thomas injects a much needed note of over the top humour and is always worth watching - thank you so much for that.

An Arab sheikh with more money than sense wants to import the sport and/or lifestyle of salmon fishing from cold and rainy Scotland to the barren desert of Yemen. In the meantime, the British government is floundering from scandal to scandal and greedily seizes upon the idea of a cultural rapprochement between the West and the Arab world through this fishing enterprise; it is even better that the sheik is willing to foot the entire bill. The messy details will be filled in by the Fisheries Department representative Dr. Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) and an investment rep for the sheikh, Ms. Harriet Chetwode-Talbot (Emily Blunt). Naturally, Dr. Jones is incredulous that anyone would think it feasible to move 10,000 salmon from Scotland to Yemen and considers his assignment a fool's errand. Harriet's apparent upper class business school education prepared her not to stop and question these silly survivability issues. Oh, and out of nowhere see seems to speak fluent Mandarin Chinese. Two characters being (in)conveniently thrust together like this is a classic setup for the romantic comedy genre. You expect to them to start out at odds, grow fond of each other, overcome some last second conflict, and then float away together with their aquatic metaphors. Well, the joke is on the audience and the culprits are the marketing execs. The preview for Salmon Fishing in the Yemen shows it as a joke a minute and lightly conceived romantic comedy; however, there is barely any noticeable comedy and every scene left out of the preview leans more toward the dramatic. There is an Afghanistan side plot, an unhappy marriage, tribal terrorism, and emotional depression. The character of Dr. Jones is plainly painted as obstinate in the beginning both towards the project and to Harriet because his character arc is required to end up softer and more compassionate. In reality, even if the good Dr. considered the salmon project lunacy, he would not be so overtly rude to Harriet. The plan's financier, Sheikh Muhammed (Amr Waked) is an obscenely rich man from Yemen prone to waxing philosophic about salmon. That kind of money can only come from oil wealth, but Yemen has no oil reserves. The plot never explains the source of the Sheikh's money, not because it is not consequential to the plot, but because it cannot. The screenplay could never find an Earthly explanation of why a Yemeni sheikh could haphazardly plop down 50 million pounds on a salmon project. The writer, Simon Beaufoy, most recently adapted 127 Hours and Slumdog Millionaire into scripts and even he chose to leave that tiny detail out of the script. What comedy there is in Salmon Fishing in the Yemen comes from the Prime Minister's press secretary, Patricia Maxwell (Kristen Scott Thomas). She is very good at what she does, knows the angle of the story she wants planted in the papers before the event occurs, and moves very quickly to make things happen. Kristen Scott Thomas hasn't played a character this snarky since Four Weddings and a Funeral. Unfortunately, Patricia vanishes a quarter ways through the film and when she reappears towards the end, the plot has unnecessarily shifted her from comedic to more bureaucratic. The acting in this film is more than capable, especially from McGregor since he is able to talk in his native Scottish dialect. Sadly, the screenplay is a mess and the tone created by director Lasse Hallstrom resembles nothing from the misleading preview and is much darker than the blindsided audience will be prepared for. Feel free to skip Salmon Fishing in the Yemen.