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.