Directed by:
Lasse HallströmScreenplay:
Simon BeaufoyCinematography:
Terry StaceyComposer:
Dario MarianelliCast:
Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Amr Waked, Kristin Scott Thomas, Catherine Steadman, Tom Mison, Rachael Stirling, Tom Beard, Jill Baker, Conleth Hill, Hamish Gray (more)Plots(1)
When Britain’s leading fisheries expert is approached by a consultant to help realize a sheikh’s vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert, he immediately thinks the project is both absurd and unachievable. But when the Prime Minister’s overzealous press secretary latches on to it as a “good will” story, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible. (Roadshow Entertainment)
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Reviews (7)
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen has both screenplay and actors to support it. McGregor is right on the border between nice guy and eccentric jerk and he and Blunt work nicely together. The A-grade cutting British humor and the absurdity of the whole idea becomes much more serious towards the end. Hallström serves us on a silver platter not just salmon, but also one of the most pleasant romantic comedies of the past few years.
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A deadly combination of fishing philosophy, lifestyle mysticism, advertising kitsch and great actors. And by the way, this is another film that stands on a certain premise and denies it by its very nature (this is becoming such a nice tradition). Salmon is a fish that swims upstream, whilst this is an obese carp from the pond. And it stinks from the head down.
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I will give it three feeble stars, but the project needed a different approach and a different director. The subject matter directly called for a satire and ironic comedy genre, but Lasse Hallström is by nature a poet and romantic, so despite his undeniable directorial qualities, it ultimately feels barren. The solid cast is also not properly utilized due to the problematic screenplay. Overall impression: 50%.
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If the film had ended like the book in which some of the characters don't survive and the romantic line turns out completely differently, I wouldn't have hesitated to give it a fifth star. Still, I enjoyed watching Salmon Fishing in the Yemen very much, thanks mainly to the excellent cast - the likeable Ewan McGregor, the beautiful Emily Blunt, the hellishly funny Kristin Scott Thomas as Humphrey Appleby in skirts (incidentally, this character is quite a slimy man in the prequel) and the exemplary pleasant mood.
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I’ve recently seen a similarly goofy movie, though a little less well-known than this one. It was called Flicker. Like Salmon Fishing in the Yemen, it was absurd and it was very nice to look at. In the same way, however, I couldn’t get over the absurdity and somehow couldn’t get rid of the impression that even though the idea is pleasant, the execution is very nice and the actors play brilliantly, I’ll probably never watch this film again and it won’t bother me at all.
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