Wednesday 16 May 2012

Salmon Fishing In The Yemen

Mini Review

I went to see Salmon Fishing In The Yemen on a bit of a whim. My best friend and I decided one grey Sunday afternoon to go to the cinema. The obvious choice movie was Avengers Assemble but as I had already seen it and was imminently about to see it again she made the executive decision to see Salmon Fishing instead. And I'm glad she made that call.

It was so different to Avengers and was actually the perfect movie to break up screenings of the superhero flick. Salmon Fishing In The Yemen is based on a true story of a Sheikh (Amr Waked) who enjoys fly-fishing so much that he wants to introduce it to his home land The Yemen. His assistant Harriet (Emily Blunt) enlists the help of fisheries expert Alfred Jones (Ewan McGregor) who, despite having no faith that the project will work, agrees to help the Sheikh with his predicament. Soon the British government get wind of the story and decide to use it to promote healthy relations between the UK and the Middle East. 

Going off the trailer I'd seen I didn't think the film would be that great, but Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt had a very genuine chemistry which made their characters instantly likeable. I found the dialogue in their scenes realistic, and in the latter stages of the film, once their friendship was forged, I thought their moments on-screen were quite touching. The scenes involving Kristin Scott Thomas' character were the least enjoyable for me, and the scenes which were mostly played for laughs, which wasn't really necessary. But this didn't have too detrimental an impact on the overall film. 

The film was refreshing in that the story was not your usual rom com or brit flick but a nice mish mash of the two with a slice of political drama on the side. A surprisingly watchable, feel good film which is perfect for a drizzly Sunday afternoon. 8 out of 10.

As I didn't think much of the trailer I have included a clip below for your delectation.




Viewing Date - 29th April 2012
UK Release Date - 20th April 2012

Cast Overview:
Ewan McGregor ~ Dr Alfred Jones
Emily Blunt ~ Harriet Chetwode-Talbot
Kristin Scott Thomas ~ Patricia Maxwell
Amr Waked ~ Sheikh Muhammed
Tom Mison ~ Capt Robert Mayers

Director ~ Lasse Hallstrom
Writer(s) ~ Simon Beaufoy (Screenplay) and Paul Torday (Novel)

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